Assessment of Methane Management and Recovery Options for Livestock Manures and Slurries

Abstract:

<p>This report examines the current levels of methane emission from livestock manures and slurries in the UK and then explores possible options and routes for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions within a methane generation and recovery strategy for England.</p> <p>Methane emissions from manures and slurry management make up 14% of the total methane emissions from livestock husbandry in the UK. Although slurry based management systems make up less than 40% of the manure management infrastructure, they account for 74% of methane emissions from manures and slurries.</p> <p>In this study, we have looked in detail at the economics for options for on-farm AD and centralised AD in England. All the options proved uneconomic without some extra Government support. However, a small number of larger CAD may be economic, especially if higher levels of industrial waste (up to 20%) were treated in the CAD. A cost benefit analysis based on the options and assuming Government support in the form of capital grants suggests that greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to up to 0.03MtC could be saved annually at a cost of &#163;60/tC, if 20 CAD plants were built. However, this would result in lifetime costs to Government of &#163; 143M. On-farm AD would need significant support to be economic.</p> This report is divided into the following sections: <ol> <li>Introduction</li> <li>Current Situation </li> <li>Technology options</li> <li>Options for Methane Mitigation</li> <li>Wider benefits and challenges for AD</li> <li>Conclusions and Recommendations</li> <li>Glossary, References & Appendices</li></ol> <ul> <li>Appendix 1 - Methane to Markets Questionnaire</li> <li>Appendix 2 - Manure and Methane Production Data </li> <li>Appendix 3 - Basis of Options for England </li> <li>Appendix 4 - Economics and Greenhouse Gas Balance of AD</li> </ul>

Author(s):

Future Energy Solutions