IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v137y2021ics1364032120307620.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental sustainability assessment of pig manure mono- and co-digestion and dynamic land application of the digestate

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Yizhen
  • Jiang, Yan
  • Wang, Shun
  • Wang, Zhongzhong
  • Liu, Yanchen
  • Hu, Zhenhu
  • Zhan, Xinmin

Abstract

In this study, the environmental impacts of pig manure direct land application and anaerobic digestion (mono- and co-digestion) for biomethane production followed by digestate land application were evaluated by life cycle assessment, with a focus on the dynamic land application of digestate in terms of the nutrient profiles, soil nutrient status and environmental regulations. Ireland was used as a case study where co-digestion of manure with grass silage is viable, and an Irish emission inventory was established. The results indicate that pig manure and grass silage co-digestion performs best in 9 of the 11 impact categories assessed. Compared with direct land application, mono-digestion of pig manure decreases direct greenhouse gas emissions by 48% (190 tonne CO2e). Co-digestion with grass silage increases the total energy recovery by 226% (1592 MWh) than mono-digestion. The nitrogen available for plants in digestate (41.8%) is a little lower than that in raw pig manure (43.2%) due to the higher ammonia emissions after anaerobic degradation. The environmental impacts of the three pig manure management methods are greatly affected by soil nutrient conditions and regional environmental regulations, which determine the organic fertilizer application rates and consequently the required land areas and transport distances. In this case study, the land application area for digestate is determined by phosphorus acceptance of soils rather than nitrogen or potassium. This study provides practical insights to farmers, the gas industry, and policy makers to conduct effective organic fertilizer application, select optimal AD plant location, and maximize environmental benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yizhen & Jiang, Yan & Wang, Shun & Wang, Zhongzhong & Liu, Yanchen & Hu, Zhenhu & Zhan, Xinmin, 2021. "Environmental sustainability assessment of pig manure mono- and co-digestion and dynamic land application of the digestate," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:137:y:2021:i:c:s1364032120307620
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110476
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120307620
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110476?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dennehy, C. & Lawlor, P.G. & Gardiner, G.E. & Jiang, Y. & Shalloo, L. & Zhan, X., 2017. "Stochastic modelling of the economic viability of on-farm co-digestion of pig manure and food waste in Ireland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1528-1537.
    2. Singh, Anoop & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Korres, Nicholas E. & Murphy, Jerry D., 2011. "The effect of reactor design on the sustainability of grass biomethane," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1567-1574, April.
    3. Roubík, Hynek & Mazancová, Jana & Phung, Le Dinh & Banout, Jan, 2018. "Current approach to manure management for small-scale Southeast Asian farmers - Using Vietnamese biogas and non-biogas farms as an example," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 362-370.
    4. Tsapekos, P. & Khoshnevisan, B. & Alvarado-Morales, M. & Symeonidis, A. & Kougias, P.G. & Angelidaki, Irini, 2019. "Environmental impacts of biogas production from grass: Role of co-digestion and pretreatment at harvesting time," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Smyth, Beatrice M. & Murphy, Jerry D. & O'Brien, Catherine M., 2009. "What is the energy balance of grass biomethane in Ireland and other temperate northern European climates?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2349-2360, December.
    6. Vo, Truc T.Q. & Rajendran, Karthik & Murphy, Jerry D., 2018. "Can power to methane systems be sustainable and can they improve the carbon intensity of renewable methane when used to upgrade biogas produced from grass and slurry?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1046-1056.
    7. Lijó, Lucía & González-García, Sara & Bacenetti, Jacopo & Fiala, Marco & Feijoo, Gumersindo & Lema, Juan M. & Moreira, María Teresa, 2014. "Life Cycle Assessment of electricity production in Italy from anaerobic co-digestion of pig slurry and energy crops," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 625-635.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tsui, To-Hung & Zhang, Le & Zhang, Jingxin & Dai, Yanjun & Tong, Yen Wah, 2022. "Engineering interface between bioenergy recovery and biogas desulfurization: Sustainability interplays of biochar application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Rahul Kadam & Sangyeol Jo & Jonghwa Lee & Kamonwan Khanthong & Heewon Jang & Jungyu Park, 2024. "A Review on the Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Livestock Manures in the Context of Sustainable Waste Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-27, January.
    3. Nicholas Davison & Aaron Brown & Andrew Ross, 2023. "Potential Greenhouse Gas Mitigation from Utilising Pig Manure and Grass for Hydrothermal Carbonisation and Anaerobic Digestion in the UK, EU, and China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Wei En Tan & Peng Yen Liew & Lian See Tan & Kok Sin Woon & Nor Erniza Mohammad Rozali & Wai Shin Ho & Jamian NorRuwaida, 2022. "Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis for Anaerobic Digestion as Cow Manure Management System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Saha, Chayan Kumer & Nandi, Rajesh & Akter, Shammi & Hossain, Samira & Kabir, Kazi Bayzid & Kirtania, Kawnish & Islam, Md Tahmid & Guidugli, Laura & Reza, M. Toufiq & Alam, Md Monjurul, 2024. "Technical prospects and challenges of anaerobic co-digestion in Bangladesh: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Héctor Alfredo López-Aguilar & Bryan Morales-Durán & David Quiroz-Cardoza & Antonino Pérez-Hernández, 2023. "Lag Phase in the Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Sargassum spp. and Organic Domestic Waste," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-15, July.
    7. James Gaffey & Cathal O’Donovan & Declan Murphy & Tracey O’Connor & David Walsh & Luis Alejandro Vergara & Kwame Donkor & Lalitha Gottumukkala & Sybrandus Koopmans & Enda Buckley & Kevin O’Connor & Jo, 2023. "Synergetic Benefits for a Pig Farm and Local Bioeconomy Development from Extended Green Biorefinery Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Robert Czubaszek & Agnieszka Wysocka-Czubaszek & Piotr Banaszuk, 2022. "Importance of Feedstock in a Small-Scale Agricultural Biogas Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Padi, Richard Kingsley & Douglas, Sean & Murphy, Fionnuala, 2023. "Techno-economic potentials of integrating decentralised biomethane production systems into existing natural gas grids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    10. Ilaria Orlandella & Silvia Fiore, 2025. "Life Cycle Assessment of the Production of Biofertilizers from Agricultural Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-16, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bose, Archishman & O'Shea, Richard & Lin, Richen & Long, Aoife & Rajendran, Karthik & Wall, David & De, Sudipta & Murphy, Jerry D., 2022. "The marginal abatement cost of co-producing biomethane, food and biofertiliser in a circular economy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    2. Long, Aoife & Murphy, Jerry D., 2019. "Can green gas certificates allow for the accurate quantification of the energy supply and sustainability of biomethane from a range of sources for renewable heat and or transport?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Saha, Chayan Kumer & Nandi, Rajesh & Akter, Shammi & Hossain, Samira & Kabir, Kazi Bayzid & Kirtania, Kawnish & Islam, Md Tahmid & Guidugli, Laura & Reza, M. Toufiq & Alam, Md Monjurul, 2024. "Technical prospects and challenges of anaerobic co-digestion in Bangladesh: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    4. Padi, Richard Kingsley & Douglas, Sean & Murphy, Fionnuala, 2023. "Techno-economic potentials of integrating decentralised biomethane production systems into existing natural gas grids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    5. Browne, James & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Thamsiriroj, T & Murphy, Jerry D., 2011. "Assessing the cost of biofuel production with increasing penetration of the transport fuel market: A case study of gaseous biomethane in Ireland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 4537-4547.
    6. Bose, A. & O'Shea, R. & Lin, R. & Long, A. & Rajendran, K. & Wall, D. & De, S. & Murphy, J.D., 2022. "Evaluation of a biomethane, food and biofertiliser polygeneration system in a circular economy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    7. Long, A. & Bose, A. & O'Shea, R. & Monaghan, R. & Murphy, J.D., 2021. "Implications of European Union recast Renewable Energy Directive sustainability criteria for renewable heat and transport: Case study of willow biomethane in Ireland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    8. Gray, Nathan & O'Shea, Richard & Smyth, Beatrice & Lens, Piet N.L. & Murphy, Jerry D., 2022. "What is the energy balance of electrofuels produced through power-to-fuel integration with biogas facilities?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    9. Nizami, A.S. & Orozco, A. & Groom, E. & Dieterich, B. & Murphy, J.D., 2012. "How much gas can we get from grass?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 783-790.
    10. Luo, Tao & Khoshnevisan, Benyamin & Huang, Ruyi & Chen, Qiu & Mei, Zili & Pan, Junting & Liu, Hongbin, 2020. "Analysis of revolution in decentralized biogas facilities caused by transition in Chinese rural areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. David Fernández-Gutiérrez & Alejandra Argüelles & Gemma Castejón Martínez & José M. Soriano Disla & Andrés J. Lara-Guillén, 2022. "Unlocking New Value from Urban Biowaste: LCA of the VALUEWASTE Biobased Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-23, November.
    12. Iris Kral & Gerhard Piringer & Molly K. Saylor & Javier Lizasoain & Andreas Gronauer & Alexander Bauer, 2020. "Life Cycle Assessment of Biogas Production from Unused Grassland Biomass Pretreated by Steam Explosion Using a System Expansion Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-17, November.
    13. Kit Wayne Chew & Shir Reen Chia & Hong-Wei Yen & Saifuddin Nomanbhay & Yeek-Chia Ho & Pau Loke Show, 2019. "Transformation of Biomass Waste into Sustainable Organic Fertilizers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.
    14. Medina, Oscar E. & Amell, Andrés A. & López, Diana & Santamaría, Alexander, 2025. "Comprehensive review of nickel-based catalysts advancements for CO2 methanation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    15. Rodriguez, Cristina & Alaswad, A. & Benyounis, K.Y. & Olabi, A.G., 2017. "Pretreatment techniques used in biogas production from grass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P2), pages 1193-1204.
    16. Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar & Sarsaiya, Surendra & Wainaina, Steven & Rajendran, Karthik & Kumar, Sumit & Quan, Wang & Duan, Yumin & Awasthi, Sanjeev Kumar & Chen, Hongyu & Pandey, Ashok & Zhang, Zengqiang , 2019. "A critical review of organic manure biorefinery models toward sustainable circular bioeconomy: Technological challenges, advancements, innovations, and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 115-131.
    17. Soha, Tamás & Papp, Luca & Csontos, Csaba & Munkácsy, Béla, 2021. "The importance of high crop residue demand on biogas plant site selection, scaling and feedstock allocation – A regional scale concept in a Hungarian study area," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    18. Bekkering, J. & Hengeveld, E.J. & van Gemert, W.J.T. & Broekhuis, A.A., 2015. "Will implementation of green gas into the gas supply be feasible in the future?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 409-417.
    19. Hynek Roubík & Jana Mazancová & Phung Le Dinh & Dung Dinh Van & Jan Banout, 2018. "Biogas Quality across Small-Scale Biogas Plants: A Case of Central Vietnam," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-12, July.
    20. Singlitico, Alessandro & Goggins, Jamie & Monaghan, Rory F.D., 2019. "The role of life cycle assessment in the sustainable transition to a decarbonised gas network through green gas production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 16-28.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:137:y:2021:i:c:s1364032120307620. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.