Cattle manure for biogas production. Does ensiling and wheat straw addition enhance preservation of biomass and methane potential?

Ruben Teixeira Franco (1) , Pierre Buffière (1) , Rémy Bayard (1)

1 DEEP - Déchets Eaux Environnement Pollutions

The effects of ensiling and open-air storage on the conservation of cattle manure were investigated for 120 days at laboratory scale. Impact of co-ensiling with wheat straw was assessed as well. Up to 74% of methane potential was lost during aerobic storage. Negligible energetic losses and ammonia emissions occurred during the first month of anaerobic preservation. However, inadequate chemical properties of fresh cattle manure hindered silage stabilization for extended periods, leading to 46% of methane losses after 4 months. Co-ensiling of cattle manure with wheat straw enhanced biomass acidification, inducing a conservation of more than 86% of the methane potential after 4 months. Wheat straw addition suppressed ammonia production and limited the risks of losses through liquid effluent. The current study proves that long-term conservation of cattle manure can be achieved if correct management practices are used, which will undoubtedly improve the performance of biogas plants with this raw material.

Mots clés: Cattle manure; Storage; Ensiling; Anaerobic digestion; Methane potential

Domaines: Chimie; Génie chimique; Ingénierie de l'environnement; Génie des procédés

Ruben Teixeira Franco, Pierre Buffière, Rémy Bayard. Cattle manure for biogas production. Does ensiling and wheat straw addition enhance preservation of biomass and methane potential?. Biofuels, 2017, pp.1 - 12. ⟨10.1080/17597269.2017.1387751⟩. ⟨hal-01692799⟩