Agricultural Solid Waste For Energy Potential And Environmentally Sustainable Use From North American Midwest Cattle Farms

The author states that cows are responsible of at least 18% of methane that is in our atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is odorless and colorless. The author also states that carbon dioxide is cleaner than methane. Methane released right into the atmosphere will be a thing of the past, because the National Institute For Agricultural Technology of Argentina has created a backpack that can be placed on cows. That bag has tubes that go into the digestive tract of the cow and collects 300 liters of methane. That is enough energy to be used to power a car for 24 hours instead of being released into the atmosphere. While each bag collects only 300 liters, one adult cow will produce 1000 liters of methane in one day. One day of methane collection can power a car for more than 72 hours or 3 cars for more than 24 hours. Methane can also be used for generating electricity by burning it to produce heat. While methane is harmful, there are still ways to reduce the output of it in the atmosphere by putting it to good

Manure contains bacteria and is very high in nitrogen. The excess nitrogen can also cause nutrient-related problems in the area.

Hog farms are plentiful in North Carolina, but the 40 million gallons of untreated hog waste created everyday creates more than just a foul smell. Hog waste creates huge environmental, health, and economic issues, such as excessive nitrates in groundwater, the disruption of the thyroid, and the decrease of land value. Due to the number of hogs and how inefficiently the waste is being disposed of, this is becoming an increasing problem in North Carolina. The threat to the environment, our health, and the economy could be significantly reduced by using cleaner and more efficient ways to dispose of the waste, such as anaerobic digesters.

However, despite its many advantages biomass still has many disadvantages. Firstly it is not as efficient as fossil fuels, for example the ethanol produced for cars via biomass is not even close to the efficiency of petrol and does damage to engines over time. It also has the potential to harm the environment through increase of methane gases which are produced as a bi-product if animal and human waste is used. Biomass also requires a large distance away from residential areas in order to burn it and a large amount of fuel in comparison to other energy sources which can have dramatic effects if large portions of forests are cut down to provide lumber.1

In this first articles explains how a farmer from a large dairy farm that is called Brookside Dairy in Indiana County is adopting new technology that will save money and help the environment by managing manure from 550 dairy cows. The Brookside Dairy farm has been owned by the George family since 1781owning about 1,200 acres and with that much land the bills were high and with 550 cattle they had about 10,000 gallons of waste to spar. In the article Mr. George said"economics, odor control and the resulting better quality fertilizer for considering a digester on their dairy operation.” So then the Georges sought help from there friendly business partner Jim Resh, of the Indiana County Conservation District, to find out if there was a way to install an on-farm digester.

All over America, there is a growing problem, and that problem is the growing piles of food that end up in our nation 's landfills. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that in 2010 alone, there was an average of “133 billion pounds of food worth an estimated $161.6 billion” wasted in the United States (St. Clair). Unfortunately, all of this food does not just break down. Because of how tightly packed the garbage in landfills is there is almost no oxygen reaching the food while it breaks down (Kulpinski 1), so while the food will slowly decompose it will produce large amounts of methane. Jonathan Bloom, a published food waste expert, warns that 23% of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which has a global warming

Before we can talk about how animal agriculture waste shapes our environment, we must first know exactly what it is and how much of it there is.

Sixty thousand pounds of wet manure is produced each day by the five thousand cows that are located on the George DeRuyter and Sons dairy farm in Outlook Washington (Bonneville). You might be thinking “that’s a lot of crap”, well you’re right! The positive to all this crap is that something can be done with it. Anaerobic Digestion is a biological method when microorganism hydrolyze-break down- waste material when there is no oxygen present (American 1). Anaerobic digesters can take animal wastes, such as cow manure, and through a process break the waste down into organic molecules that can be further hydrolyzed and used as an energy source. If further steps are taken such as, removing carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen from the substance then

Cattle can take away natural resources such as water and soil, poor handling of manure and fertilizers can degrade water sources and unsustainable dairy farming and feed production can lead to the loss of ecologically important areas, such as prairies, wetlands, and forests. Dairy cows and their manure produce greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. Also, dairy operations can affect water pollution and soil degradation when manure and feed crop production are poorly managed. At the same time dairy cattle give farmers all around the world jobs as dairy farmers. Cows take and give to us, they do both good and bad for the

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

Poop is just one of the many biological materials, called biomass, that has the potential to create bioenergy. Burning wood is the oldest kind of biomass energy used on Earth. Poop is considered a biogas product, because it produces gas. Biogas can also be produced from crops such as corn, wheat, sugarcane, as well as agricultural waste products and algae. The composting process of all biogas material produces the gas that can potentially help power the world and have a positive impact on climate change.

This article talks about the problems with manure on factory farms. They generate so much manure that the “lagoons” the manure is kept in can leak or have runoff which contaminates the ground and the water. This manure is also very bad for the air. Workers and people living near these factory farms are at risks for many health problems including respiratory illnesses.

Depending on the livestock system and the level of integration of crops and livestock, manure use as a fertilizer might vary. Seré and Steinfeld (1996) classified world livestock production systems into four main types, which are all prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and which can be associated with different feeding and manure management practices:

Over this previous summer I had the opportunity to work for my uncle outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. I have visited there many times, as that's where my mothers side of the family lives. It was the first time though that I had spent so long there or was able to drive and see more of it than family members homes. My uncle lives far enough out to be surrounded by farmland which I was able to go through and drive by every day. Being able to see soy, wheat, tobacco, cattle, pine trees, goats, and sorghum every morning on your drive to work and on the way back is not something everybody is lucky enough to be able to do. We use what comes off of these farms everyday. The most obvious uses are when you go to the store and pick up your groceries,

A study, Bismethane Transportation Fuel Production Powering the Solid Waste Sector Community-Scale Distribute Transportation Fuel Production Facility has addressed one of the mothed about recycling on organic wastes, and using the organic wastes to produce renewable natural gas. The study on a project of the anaerobic Digestion, a biological mothed that decompose organic wastes into other useful methane. There are several components be considering in this type of project; fully permitted, a reliable feedstock supply, a reliable demand for the fuel in line with storage capacity, the ability to deliver the fuel to user, and financing situation. the bigger concern about the project should beget. The author addressed the cost and benefit on