Advanced Treatment Technologies
for
Livestock and Poultry Manures
and
AAFC's
Sustainable Development Strategy II
(SDS II)
(2001 - 2004)

"Sustainable Development is a blending of environmental, social, and economic opportunities that strives to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

 

AAFC's SDS II document provides the framework that will guide departmental efforts over the coming years towards environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
View complete SDS II document [3317 KB]

 

The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how anaerobic digestion and related separation/recovery technologies can satisfactorily address most of the major issues in livestock manure management for confined livestock and poultry systems, where manure can be collected.

Each issue below is linked to a specific Strategic Direction - an excerpt from the SDS II document

Issue Treatment SDS II1
Agri-environmental and Agri-Social targets
Odour Anaerobic digestion2 (AD) can virtually eliminate odours in livestock and poultry manures. Subsequent land application or other uses will also be odour-free.

Ammonia emissions from manure handling can also be reduced with closed vessel AD treatment. Reducing pH to near 7.0 greatly reduces risk of ammonia emissions .
Besides being an odour source, ammonia is now considered as a toxic substance in the CEPA3

  By 2006, there will be an increasing trend in the adoption by producers of best management agricultural practices or technologies that reduce emissions of odours and particulate matter.
View Strategic Direction 1 (702 KB)

The frequency and significance of agriculture-related environmental issues will diminish.
Performance Measure: 1) Yearly report from media scans and public opinion surveys.
View Strategic Direction 3 (309 KB)
Pathogens AD typically reduces pathogens by 90% or more. To ensure pathogen-free products, a 1-hr  thermophillic treatment  (70° C) can be used.
Subsequent land application will have no risk of water contamination by pathogens. Off-site value-added fertilizer products will also be pathogen-free.		  By 2006, there will be an increasing trend in the adoption of best practices for water use by farms and food-processing facilities.
 View Strategic Direction 1 (702 KB)
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Two most serious GHGs in agriculture are methane (20x CO2) and Nitrous oxide (320x CO2).
Methane is captured by A.D. and used for heat or for electricity generation. Virtually no GHG losses from AD processing of manure.
Land-applied digestate containing nitrogenous compounds can result in some periodic nitrous oxide production, but will be less for AD-processed manure..		  By 2006, there will be a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by agriculture, and an increase in the proportion of Canada’s farmland accumulating soil organic carbon.
Performance Measure: 1) Agricultural emissions of greenhouse gases; 2) Share of Canada’s farmland accumulating soil organic carbon.
 View Strategic Direction 1  (702 KB)
Nutrients Virtually all nutrients entering AD are conserved, since it is a closed vessel treatment. Keeping pH of digestion slurry near 7.0 will minimize risks for subsequent ammonia losses.

Post AD separation and recovery processes are capable of keeping nutrients (primarily N & P) in digested product for subsequent land application,
 OR
removing nutrients for production of off-site, value-added products
e.g. fertilizers/amendments.

Such products provide  a continuing source of revenue.

  By 2006, there will be an increasing trend in the adoption of best practices for nutrient management.
Performance Measure: Management of farm nutrient inputs, nine sub-indicators: 1) Method of fertilizer application; 2) Timing of nitrogen application; 3) Reduction of fertilizers applied to offset nutrient content of manure; 4) Use of soil testing; 5) Storage method for liquid manure; 6) Storage method for solid manure; 7) Liquid manure storage capacity; 8) Manure application method; and 9) Timing of liquid manure application.
 By 2006, there will be a decrease in the proportion of farmland at intermediate and high risk of water contamination by nitrogen and phosphorus in susceptible areas.
Performance Measure: 1) Share of farmland where the risk of water contamination by nitrogen is low; 2) Share of farmland where water contamination by phosphorus is low.
 View Strategic Direction 1 (702 KB)
Eco-
Efficiency		 Rather than allowing methane to escape into the air during manure storage and handling, it's production is optimized in the AD process (closed vessel) and used for power generation (heating, electricity).
 This is referred to as "green power", since it is a form of recycling. Heating/Power generation is revenue- generating (cost-recovery)		  By 2006, there will be an increase in the ratio of agricultural output energy over input energy.
Performance Measure: 1) Ratio of energy output/energy input in agricultural systems; 2) Chemical use intensity
View Strategic Direction 2 (294 KB)
     
1 - SDS II refers to AAFC's Sustainable Development Strategy 2001 - 2004
2 - In this context AD refers to mesophillic temperatures (about 37°C)
3 - CEPA = Canadian Environmental Protection Act

 

Footnotes:

  • Although these advanced manure treatment technologies have been used for some time in various parts of Europe, and to a lesser extent in the USA, their design and use is quite site-specific and requires expert input into their design and operational procedures.

  • In Canada, there exists policy and regulatory barriers which need to be addressed in order to foster the adoption of these "more sustainable" technologies.

  • The economic success of these technologies usually depends upon partnerships developed for their operation. Energy corporations interested in fostering "green power" through distributed generation are potential partners, as are municipalities, commercial alcohol producers, greenhouse vegetable/flower facilities, animal rendering operations, or other nearby livestock operations that could pool resources.

  • At present, these advanced treatment systems are currently economically viable for only medium-to-large size operations. Since the intent of introducing these systems is NOT to foster mega-sized operations, it is imperative to carefully regulate the size of livestock operations based on community (social) values, as well as on environmental principles. (See Community/Society Section for further information).

 

ManureNet

 

 

 

Bruce T. Bowman, Archivist
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 08:53:17 PM