IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v13y2023i2p479-d1071515.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Potential Greenhouse Gas Mitigation from Utilising Pig Manure and Grass for Hydrothermal Carbonisation and Anaerobic Digestion in the UK, EU, and China

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas Davison

    (School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Aaron Brown

    (School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Andrew Ross

    (School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

Abstract

Pig manure currently results in sizeable greenhouse gas emissions, during storage and spreading to land. Anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal carbonisation could provide significant greenhouse gas mitigation, as well as generate renewable heat and power (with anaerobic digestion), or a peat-like soil amendment product (with hydrothermal carbonisation). The greenhouse gas mitigation potential associated with avoidance of pig manure storage and spreading in the UK, EU, and China, as well as the potential to provide heat and power by anaerobic digestion and soil amendment products by hydrothermal carbonisation was herein determined. In each case, the mono-conversion of pig manure is compared to co-conversion with a 50:50 mixture of pig manure with grass. Anaerobic digestion displayed a greater greenhouse gas mitigation potential than hydrothermal carbonisation in all cases, and co-processing with grass greatly enhances greenhouse gas mitigation potential. China has the largest greenhouse gas mitigation potential (129 MT CO 2 eq), and greatest mitigation per kg of pig manure (1.8 kgCO 2 /kg pig manure volatile solids). The energy grid carbon intensity has a significant impact on the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of the different approaches in the different regions. Pig manure is generated in large amounts in China, and the energy generated from biogas offsets a higher carbon intensity grid. Greenhouse gas savings from the anaerobic digestion of pig manure and grass have been calculated to provide a significant potential for reducing total greenhouse gas emissions representation in China (1.05%), the EU (0.92%), and the UK (0.19%). Overall, the utilisation of pig manure could bring about substantial greenhouse savings, especially through co-digestion of pig manure with grass in countries with large pig farming industries and carbon intense energy mixes.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:2:p:479-:d:1071515
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/2/479/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/2/479/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholas Davison & Jaime Borbolla Gaxiola & Divya Gupta & Anurag Garg & Timothy Cockerill & Yuzhou Tang & Xueliang Yuan & Andrew Ross, 2022. "Potential Greenhouse Gas Mitigation for Converting High Moisture Food Waste into Bio-Coal from Hydrothermal Carbonisation in India, Europe and China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-37, February.
    2. Jaime E. Borbolla-Gaxiola & Andrew B. Ross & Valerie Dupont, 2022. "Multi-Variate and Multi-Response Analysis of Hydrothermal Carbonization of Food Waste: Hydrochar Composition and Solid Fuel Characteristics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Mehta, Neha & Anderson, Aine & Johnston, Christopher R. & Rooney, David W., 2022. "Evaluating the opportunity for utilising anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis of livestock manure and grass silage to decarbonise gas infrastructure: A Northern Ireland case study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 343-357.
    4. 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.
    5. Hirschler, Olivier & Osterburg, Bernhard & Weimar, Holger & Glasenapp, Sebastian & Ohmes, Marie-Friederike, 2022. "Peat replacement in horticultural growing media : availability of bio-based alternative materials," Thünen Working Paper 320334, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    6. Kiran R. Parmar & Andrew B. Ross, 2019. "Integration of Hydrothermal Carbonisation with Anaerobic Digestion; Opportunities for Valorisation of Digestate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Hirschler, Olivier & Osterburg, Bernhard & Weimar, Holger & Glasenapp, Sebastian & Ohmes, Marie-Friederike, 2022. "Peat replacement in horticultural growing media: Availability of bio-based alternative materials," Thünen Working Papers 190, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    8. Roy, Poritosh & Dutta, Animesh & Gallant, Jim, 2020. "Evaluation of the life cycle of hydrothermally carbonized biomass for energy and horticulture application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    9. 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).
    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. Bin Yang & Weiguo Jia & Yi Yu & Hui Zhang, 2024. "Sustainability Assessment of Agricultural Waste Biogas Production System in China Based on Emergy and Carbon Evaluation Methods," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Nelė Jurkėnaitė, 2023. "Analysis of the Nexus between Structural and Climate Changes in EU Pig Farming," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, September.

    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. 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.
    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. Dilvin Cebi & Melih Soner Celiktas & Hasan Sarptas, 2022. "A Review on Sewage Sludge Valorization via Hydrothermal Carbonization and Applications for Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 1345-1367, December.
    4. 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).
    5. Vijayaraja Loganathan & Dhanasekar Ravikumar & Rupa Kesavan & Kanakasri Venkatesan & Raadha Saminathan & Raju Kannadasan & Mahalingam Sudhakaran & Mohammed H. Alsharif & Zong Woo Geem & Junhee Hong, 2022. "A Case Study on Renewable Energy Sources, Power Demand, and Policies in the States of South India—Development of a Thermoelectric Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-29, July.
    6. Pietro Romano & Nicola Stampone & Gabriele Di Giacomo, 2023. "Evolution and Prospects of Hydrothermal Carbonization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-11, March.
    7. 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.
    8. 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).
    9. 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.
    10. 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).
    11. 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).
    12. 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).
    13. Aragón-Briceño, C.I. & Pozarlik, A.K. & Bramer, E.A. & Niedzwiecki, Lukasz & Pawlak-Kruczek, H. & Brem, G., 2021. "Hydrothermal carbonization of wet biomass from nitrogen and phosphorus approach: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 401-415.
    14. Ankita Chopra & Prakash Rao & Om Prakash, 2024. "Biochar-enhanced soilless farming: a sustainable solution for modern agriculture," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(7), pages 1-21, October.
    15. Maneesh Kumar Mediboyina & Fionnuala Murphy, 2024. "Environmental Assessment of a Waste-to-Energy Cascading System Integrating Forestry Residue Pyrolysis and Poultry Litter Anaerobic Digestion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-15, March.
    16. Latika Bhatia & Harit Jha & Tanushree Sarkar & Prakash Kumar Sarangi, 2023. "Food Waste Utilization for Reducing Carbon Footprints towards Sustainable and Cleaner Environment: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-20, January.
    17. 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).
    18. Adela Bâra & Simona-Vasilica Oprea & Niculae Oprea, 2023. "How Fast to Avoid Carbon Emissions: A Holistic View on the RES, Storage and Non-RES Replacement in Romania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-17, March.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    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:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:2:p:479-:d:1071515. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.