title: Comparing environmental consequences of anaerobic mono- and co-digestion of pig manure to produce bio-energy--a life cycle perspective.
abstract: The aim of this work was to assess the environmental consequences of anaerobic mono- and co-digestion of pig manure to produce bio-energy, from a life cycle perspective. This included assessing environmental impacts and land use change emissions (LUC) required to replace used co-substrates for anaerobic digestion. Environmental impact categories considered were climate change, terrestrial acidification, marine and freshwater eutrophication, particulate matter formation, land use, and fossil fuel depletion. Six scenarios were evaluated: mono-digestion of manure, co-digestion with: maize silage, maize silage and glycerin, beet tails, wheat yeast concentrate (WYC), and roadside grass. Mono-digestion reduced most impacts, but represented a limited source for bio-energy. Co-digestion with maize silage, beet tails, and WYC (competing with animal feed), and glycerin increased bio-energy production (up to 568%), but at expense of increasing climate change (through LUC), marine eutrophication, and land use. Co-digestion with wastes or residues like roadside grass gave the best environmental performance.
authors.affiliation: Wageningen UR Livestock Research, Wageningen Universtity and Research Centre, P.O. Box 135, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands. jerke.devries@wur.nl
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: De Vries
authors.forename: T M W J
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Vinken
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hamelin
authors.forename: I J M
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: De Boer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000382:microbiology*; D004777:Environment; D008372:Manure / Q000382:microbiology*; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D008372:Manure; D008697:Methane