Environmental impact of meat meal fertilizer vs. chemical fertilizer

Abstract

Animal by-products (ABP) are rich in nutrients and energy. This LCA study assessed and compared the environmental impact of using meat meal as fertilizer with that of using chemical fertilizer. In one system the nutrient content of ABP Category 2 was recovered and used as a meat meal fertilizer on arable land, replacing chemical fertilizers. In the other system a chemical fertilizer was used and the energy content of the ABP material recovered. The functional unit consisted of one kg of harvested spring wheat and treatment of 0.59 kg of ABP Category 2. The system for nutrient recovery and chemical fertilizer replacement had lower emissions of greenhouse gases and acidification than the energy recovery system, but had higher total use of energy and eutrophying emissions. Overall, the results of the study greatly depended on the fuels replaced. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Chemical fertilizer; Energy recovery; LCA; Meat meal; Organic fertilizer

Published in

Resources, Conservation and Recycling
2011, Volume: 55, number: 11, pages: 1078-1086 Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Spångberg, Johanna

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Hansson, Per-Anders

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Tidåker, Pernilla

  • Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Jönsson, Håkan

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.06.002

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/58216