Mapping of Biomass Fluxes: A Method for Optimizing Biogas-Refinery of Livestock Effluents

Francesca Nardin and Fabrizio Mazzetto
Additional contact information
Francesca Nardin: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, piazza Università 5, Bozen I-39100, Italy
Fabrizio Mazzetto: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, piazza Università 5, Bozen I-39100, Italy

Sustainability, 2014, vol. 6, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: This paper presents the topic of the management of livestock effluents and, therefore, nutrients (particularly N) in the framework of the biogas supply chain. The bio-refinery will be analyzed as a unique system, from the farm to the biomass produced and sent to anaerobic digestion, focusing on the fate/change of the flow of material and nutrients content through the system. Within four categories of farms considered in the article, integrated ones frequently have a breeding consistency from 90 to 320 heads, according to more extensive or intensive settings. These farms must manage from 3.62 to 12.81 m 3 day −1 of slurry and from 11.40 to 40.34 kg day −1 of nitrogen (N) as the sum of excreta from all herd categories. By selecting a hypo-protein diet, a reduction of 10% and 24% for total effluent amount and for N excreted, respectively, can be achieved. Nitrogen can be reduced up to 45% if the crude protein content is limited and a further 0.23% if animals of similar ages, weights and (or) production or management are grouped and fed according to specific requirements. Integrated farms can implement farming activity with biogas production, possibly adding agricultural residues to the anaerobically-digested biomass. Average biogas yields for cattle effluents range from 200 to 400 m 3 ton −1 VS (volatile solids). Values from 320 to 672 m 3 day −1 of biogas can be produced, obtaining average values from 26 to 54.5 kWe (kilowatt-electric). This type of farm can well balance farm-production profit, environmental protection, animal husbandry well-being and energy self-sufficiency.

Keywords: biogas; bio-waste manure; farm setting; feeding solutions; housing; N-balance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/9/5920/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/9/5920/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:9:p:5920-5940:d:39928

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().