Lignite Improved the Quality of Composted Manure and Mitigated Emissions of Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases during Forced Aeration Composting

Impraim, Robert; Weatherley, Anthony; Coates, Trevor; Chen, Deli; Suter, Helen

doi:10.3390/su122410528

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Lignite Improved the Quality of Composted Manure and Mitigated Emissions of Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases during Forced Aeration Composting

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School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada

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Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10528; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410528

Received: 19 November 2020 / Revised: 8 December 2020 / Accepted: 9 December 2020 / Published: 16 December 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Science and Sustainable Waste Management)

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Abstract

Lignite amendment of livestock manure is considered a viable ammonia (NH₃) emission mitigation technique. However, its impact on the subsequent composting of the manure has not been well studied. This work compared changes in biochemical parameters (e.g., organic matter loss and nitrogen (N) transformation) and also the emissions of NH₃ and greenhouse gases (GHGs) between lignite-amended and unamended cattle manure during forced aeration composting. Amending manure with lignite did not alter the time to compost stability despite delaying the onset of the thermophilic temperatures. Lignite treatments retained N in the manure by suppressing NH₃ loss by 35–54%, resulting in lignite-amended manure composts having 10–19% more total N than the unamended compost. Relative to manure only, lignites reduced GHG emissions over the composting period: nitrous oxide (N₂O) (58–72%), carbon dioxide (CO₂) (12–23%) and methane (CH₄) (52–59%). Low levels of CH₄ and N₂O emissions were observed and this was attributed to the continuous forced aeration system used in the composting. Lignite addition also improved the germination index of the final compost: 90–113% compared to 71% for manure only. These findings suggest that lignite amendment of manure has the potential to improve the quality of the final compost whilst mitigating the environmental release of NH₃ and GHGs. View Full-Text

Keywords: lignite; ammonia emission; nitrogen loss; greenhouse gas emission; manure composting

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MDPI and ACS Style

Impraim, R.; Weatherley, A.; Coates, T.; Chen, D.; Suter, H. Lignite Improved the Quality of Composted Manure and Mitigated Emissions of Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases during Forced Aeration Composting. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10528. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410528

AMA Style

Impraim R, Weatherley A, Coates T, Chen D, Suter H. Lignite Improved the Quality of Composted Manure and Mitigated Emissions of Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases during Forced Aeration Composting. Sustainability. 2020; 12(24):10528. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410528

Chicago/Turabian Style

Impraim, Robert, Anthony Weatherley, Trevor Coates, Deli Chen, and Helen Suter. 2020. "Lignite Improved the Quality of Composted Manure and Mitigated Emissions of Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases during Forced Aeration Composting" Sustainability 12, no. 24: 10528. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410528

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Lignite Improved the Quality of Composted Manure and Mitigated Emissions of Ammonia and Greenhouse Gases during Forced Aeration Composting

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