No abstract

This study is aimed to evaluate the efficiency of biochar and crude glycerin as additives in N retention throughout the composting of cattle slaughterhouse waste in static piles receiving forced aeration. There were five treatments (control, biochar accounting for 5 and 10%, and glycerin accounting for 5 and 10%, both at total solids) and four times (20, 50, 70 and 90 days of composting). The slaughterhouse waste was composted with a bulking agent at a ratio of 3:1, and the mixtures of waste and the tested additives were placed in nylon bags. The piles reached thermophilic temperatures soon after the process started and following turnings. The reductions of volatile solids, carbon, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin were not influenced by the additives, resulting in averages of 69.1, 67.1, 62.1, 51.6 and 35.3%, respectively. The control showed greater N losses (58.38%), compared to the treatments with additives. The inclusions of biochar yielded an average loss of 48.47% N, while 10% of glycerin resulted in the lowest N losses (44.83%). The use of biochar and glycerin as additives in the composting of slaughterhouse waste is recommended in order to decrease N losses and improve the concentration of nutrients, without compromising the biodegradation of organic components.

The co-digestion of swine manure with vegetable waste is an alternative that can increase the production of biogas and methane generated by the isolated digestion of manure. However, recommendations that are based on the best ratio between manure and forage, as well as the age of harvest, are still scarce in the literature. This study was conducted to evaluate inclusions (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of the total solids (TS) of Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) harvested at two ages medium age (MA) at 45 days of growth and advanced age (AA) at 90 days in co-digestion with swine manure, using an entirely randomized design in a 5x2 factorial scheme. Batch digesters were used and biogas production was monitored for 12 weeks. There was influence of forage age (P <0.05) on the degradation of solids and neutral detergent fiber, with higher values for the substrates containing MA forage. The highest CH4 yields were obtained by the substrates containing MA forage in the inclusion of 27.7 and 31.6%, being 253.7 and 222.2 L of CH4 per Kg of total or volatile solids. The age of the forages influenced the onset and persistence of biogas production, being advantageous only in the inclusion of 25% of MA forage. The AA forage inclusion is not recommended for co-digestion with swine manure.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of forced aeration and season on hatchery waste composting in static windrows with perforated walls. there were three well-defined thermophilic phases during composting, with the first occurring immediately after the formation of the windrows and the others occurring after turnovers at 50 and 70 days of composting. Aeration resulted in greater degradation (p<0.01) of volatile solids (VS), carbon (C), and lignin in the composting windrows during the summer up to 50 days of process, in comparison to no aeration piles. However, at 70 and 90 days of composting, the results were similar between aerated and nonaerated windrows. The greatest (p<0.01) degradation of nitrogen (N) occurred during the winter and in the absence of aeration (55.25%). Season influenced (p<0.05) the concentrations of humic acids, and they were higher in the compost generated during the summer than generated during the winter. The concentrations of Mg, Fe and Na were influenced by the season, with higher values (p<0.01) in the summer, however they were not affected by aeration. In the winter, aeration is recommended after 50 days of composting, whereas in summer, forced aeration is beneficial for N conservation and humic acid formation.

This study aims to characterize the waste of weaned piglets and estimate the emissions of N2O in kg of CO2 eq/kg of weight gain in the first week of housing. Primary data were obtained in the first week after weaning of piglets to identify how much waste from this animal category may affect the environment. The life cycle assessment was applied to verify the amount of manure and the emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) considering the weight gain (WG) of piglets in the first post-weaning week. Eight waste collections were carried out in two lots representing an average of 8,099 animals with initial and final weight of 5.01 and 5.84 kg, respectively. The production of residues was 0.128 kg of dry matter (DM) for each kilogram of WG produced. This waste production has an emission capacity of approximately 4x10-4 kg N2O/kg WG in the first post-weaning week. Considering that N2O has a global warming potential almost 300 times higher in retaining heat than CO2, each 1 kg of piglet produced can emit about 0.129 kg of CO2 equivalent from the N2O produced. According to the number of piglets evaluated in this study, the total emission can reach 1.85 tons of CO2 equivalent in the first post-weaning week alone.