Environmental assessment of energy production from anaerobic digestion of pig manure at medium-scale using life cycle assessment

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) 2020-02, Vol.102, p.85-96
• Main Authors: Ramírez-Islas, Martha E., Güereca, Leonor Patricia, Sosa-Rodriguez, Fabiola S., Cobos-Peralta, Mario A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobiosis; Animals; Biofuels; Biogas flaring; Energy production; Environment; LCA; Manure; Medium-scale; Mexico; Pig manure; Swine
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.10.012

•Energy production presents more environmental benefits than biogas flaring.•Biogas flaring shows impacts on global warming and fossil resources depletion.•Anaerobic digestion followed composting has the best environmental profile.•Avoiding unintentional emissions is key factor for impacts reduction at medium-scale.•Composting emission factors from field data of a Mexican pig farm were estimated. This study assessed the potential environmental effects of energy production from pig manure treatment by anaerobic digestion at medium-scale based on the Life Cycle Assessment of a farm in Puebla, Mexico. It also compared the results from common practices of biogas flaring and conventional management. The analysis was based on one ton of pig manure in 4 systems: two with energy production, one with biogas flaring, and the last one conventional management. The use of biogas for electricity production combined with composting techniques generated the lowest net impacts on climate change of 272 kg CO2eq and photochemical oxidation of 0.056 kg ethylene eq, while the biogas flaring registered impacts of 344 kg CO2eq and 0.095 kg ethylene eq. The systems with energy production had environmental benefits on fossil resources depletion by avoiding the consumption of −863 MJ and −1608 MJ, but systems that burned biogas required fossil fuel consumption of 246 MJ from the grid. The conventional management generated the greatest environmental impacts, with eutrophication being the most important negative effect due to the manure discharge into water bodies (5.97 kg PO4eq). Sensitivity analysis shown that energy production could generate greater impacts on global warming compared to the case in which manure was used directly in crop fields, if emissions from unintentional releases and a poor digestate management are not avoided. Results are relevant for developing countries in which processes are carried out in rural and semi-industrial areas with lack of technical knowledge and economic resources.