Alleviating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Animal Waste Storage with Biochar Integration

Title

Alleviating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Animal Waste Storage with Biochar Integration

Author

1. Lois Anne, Student, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines
2. Rick Aaron, Student, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines

Abstract

The storage of animal manure is a pressing issue in farming since it significantly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming. Barns produce a lot of carbon emissions, which harms the environment. This study aims to find out whether biochar may lower the CO₂ and CH₂ emissions from sewage and digestion slurry, two types of wastewater. A portable gas analyzer and stable chamber method were used to determine the pollution during 21 days. 

Results show that compared to unprocessed substrates, adding biochar in a 2:1 ratio significantly reduces emissions of CO2 and CH4. The high pollution levels of slurry highlight the need for immediate action to reduce these levels. Sewage emissions of CO2 and CH4 are reduced by 39% and 41%, respectively, when biochar is included. The digestate is the most essential component as it reduces the production of CO2 by 58% and CH4 by 92%. Despite manure displaying reducing emission tendencies, adding biochar still results in substantial reductions, with carbon dioxide (CO2) releases dropping by 52% and CH4 emissions falling by 88%, respectively. 

Biochar application reduces digestate's Global Warming Capability by 67%, slurry's by 29%, and manure's by 57%, mitigating environmental consequences across all treatments. 

Keywords

Conclusion

Biochar, made from agricultural waste products from animals, is an attractive option for reducing carbon emissions and keeping the organic carbon of farming products stable. The most advantageous results may be incorporating biochar into substrates rich in moisture and containing readily biodegradable chemicals, including slurry and digestate, which are vulnerable to losses due to volatilization. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and reducing climate change's consequences, this approach boosts soil carbon content after applying biochar mixtures with digestate, slurry, and manure. Significantly, decreasing the GWP linked to handling these waste products, whether in storage tanks or barns, may dramatically help lessen the environmental impacts of farming when raising cattle. Although there will be very few effects associated with its generation, this possibility is quite noteworthy for digestate.

Author Contrubution

The author confirms sole responsibility for the following: study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and manuscript preparation.

Funding

The authors did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Data Sharing Statement

Not applicable

Software And Tools Use

Not applicable

Acknowledgements

I thank the following individuals for their expertise and assistance in all aspects of our study and for their help in writing the manuscript. I am also grateful for the insightful comments given by anonymous peer reviewers. Everyone's generosity and expertise have improved this study in myriad ways and saved me from many errors.