Nutrient Recovery and Emissions of Ammonia, Nitrous Oxide, and Methane from Animal Manure in Europe: Effects of Manure Treatment Technologies

Abstract

Animal manure contributes considerably to ammonia (NH) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe. Various treatment technologies have been implemented to reduce emissions and to facilitate its use as fertilizer, but a systematic analysis of these technologies has not yet been carried out. This study presents an integrated assessment of manure treatment effects on NH, nitrous oxide (NO) and methane (CH) emissions from manure management chains in all countries of EU-27 in 2010 using the MITERRA-Europe model. Effects of implementing 12 treatment technologies on emissions and nutrient recovery were further explored through scenario analyses; the level of implementation corresponded to levels currently achieved by forerunner countries. Manure treatment decreased GHG emissions from manures in EU countries by 0-17% in 2010, with the largest contribution from anaerobic digestion; the effects on NH emissions were small. Scenario analyses indicate that increased use of slurry acidification, thermal drying, incineration and pyrolysis may decrease NH (9-11%) and GHG (11-18%) emissions; nitrification-denitrification treatment decreased NH emissions, but increased GHG emissions. The nitrogen recovery (% of nitrogen excreted in housings that is applied to land) would increase from a mean of 57% (in 2010) to 61% by acidification, but would decrease to 48% by incineration. Promoting optimized manure treatment technologies can greatly contribute to achieving NH and GHG emission targets set in EU environmental policies.

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“…Many technologies exist to support these policies. For example, animal manure can be recycled on cropland after treatment (e.g., composting) (Dong et al, ; Hou et al, ; Jia, ). Nutrient use efficiency of crop production can be improved by fertilizing crops according to their needs for nutrients (Zhang et al, ).…”

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“…The relevant data sources were then chosen in line with selection criteria described in recent studies that focus on emission reductions in manure management (Hou et al 2015(Hou et al , 2017Wang et al 2017). The selection criteria were as follows: (1) the animal type was either cattle or pigs subject to reduced CP in their diets; (2) NH 3 emissions were measured and reported in at least one of the following manure management stages: housing, storage or application; (3) reference treatments included initial and final CP levels along with reference NH 3 fluxes; (4) studies complied with standards related to animal nutrition and experimental design; (5) the articles were peer reviewed and available in English.…”

Technical, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of a Collective Integrated Treatment System for Energy Recovery and Nutrient Removal from Livestock Manure

“…Salmonella absent/present present (1) Values refer to the whole manure management system from farm storage to land application. (2) Values refer to the process line of the treatment plant including plant storage and transport farm/plant, but not to the field distribution (assumed equal in both scenarios).…”

“…The gradual intensification of livestock farming systems can increase their total environmental impact, resulting in higher emissions of pollutants such as greenhouse gases (GHG), ammonia (NH 3 ), and odors that derive from housing, storage, and field application of manure and slurry. In Europe, animal manures contribute about 65% of total anthropogenic NH 3 , 40% of N 2 O, and 10% of CH 4 emissions [1]. These pollutants impact environmental quality (e.g., acidification, eutrophication, climate change) and human health (e.g., respiratory diseases) even beyond the boundaries of areas characterized by high livestock intensity [2].…”