Thermo-Chemical Treatment for Carcass Disposal and the Application of Treated Carcass as Compost

Abstract

A mechanized thermo-chemical treatment system was developed to treat the undecomposed carcass and remediate livestock burial sites. Animal carcasses were thus processed via crushing, mixing, and treatment with quicklime treatment, heat treatment (200–500 °C), and mixing with sawdust. The machinery was applied to two sites where 16,000 chickens and 418 pigs had previously been buried in fiber-reinforced plastic storage bins. No dioxins were detected in the gas discharged during processing, and the concentration of total volatile organic compound, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene were 430.3, 139.0, 18.3, 21.4, and 10.4 μg/m3, respectively, which were below the air pollutant emission standards issued by the Korean Ministry of Environment. Korean standards stipulating the use of treated carcasses as compost (C, N, and P content, heavy metal concentration, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella) were met, but the germination index value was less than 70, not satisfying the criteria. Plant height, leaf length, leaf width, and dry weight of lettuce grown in soil amended with treated carcass product were significantly lower than those grown in low nutrient soil due to the poor germination index of the treated carcass. These results indicate that a composting process is required before the use of the treated carcass as a fertilizer. The addition of zeolite retarded the elution of ammonia from the carcasses and its efficiency was about 87.9%. It is expected that the mechanized thermo-chemical treatment process developed in this study could replace other technologies for the remediation of livestock burial sites.

Sustainable Small Ruminant Production in Low- and Middle-Income African Countries: Harnessing the Potential of Agroecology

“…Recycled feed from unknown sources may contain contaminants, pesticides, heavy metals, or toxins that could negatively impact animal health. [145][146][147][148][149] Disease transmission Feeding recycled materials from unknown sources can introduce infectious diseases and pathogens into a herd or flock, leading to disease outbreaks. [150][151][152] Imbalanced nutritional composition The nutritional content of recycled feed may not be well-balanced, lacking essential nutrients or having an inappropriate nutrient ratio for livestock.…”

Resource Conversion through Composting of thermo-chemically Treated Buried Carcasses by Mixing with Kenaf and Rice Straw

“…가축 매몰지 내 사체의 열화학적 처리는 짧은 시간 안에 분 해되지 않은 매몰지 내 사체를 빠르게 처리하여, 가축 매몰에 따른 토양 및 지하수 오염 등의 2차 오염이 없다는 장점이 있다. 4) 또한, 소각 및 렌더링 방법에 비하여 투입되는 에너지 가 적어서, 경제적성이 높다. 그러나, 선행 연구에서 열화학적 처리된 가축 매몰지 사체를 퇴비화 과정 없이 상추 재배에 이용할 경우 발아지수가 낮아 상추의 생육이 불량하였다.…”

“…그러나, 선행 연구에서 열화학적 처리된 가축 매몰지 사체를 퇴비화 과정 없이 상추 재배에 이용할 경우 발아지수가 낮아 상추의 생육이 불량하였다. 4) 따 라서 열화학적으로 처리된 가축 매몰지 사체를 식물 재배를 위한 퇴비 및 상토로 활용되기 위해서는 후속 퇴비화 과정이 필요하다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 열화학적으로 처리된 가축 매몰지 시료를 사용하여 퇴비화를 진행하여 식물 재배를 위한 퇴비로 개량하였다.…”