Search results for " digestate"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Impact of anaerobic digestates on microbial communities of agricultural soils
2022
Anaerobic digestion of organic waste is considered as a key process to produce renewable energy to meet the growing sustainable energy demand. The residues of this anaerobic digestion, called digestates, can be used in agriculture as soil amendments and improve crop yields. However, the effect of digestates on soil biota, especially on microorganisms is still debated and needs to be better documented before their use at large scale in agricultural fields. The objective of the present thesis was to assess the effect of digestates on soil microbial community in different geographical and pedoclimatic contexts on the French territory. This thesis is divided in two parts. The first part takes p…
Acute toxicity tests using earthworms to estimate ecological quality of compost and digestate
2017
Ecological quality of compost and digestate, used as fertilizers for agricultural use, was assessed through an acute ecotoxicological bioassay testing the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Annelida). The test evaluates the earthworm’s attitude to dig within 15 min into a soil medium constituted by a mixture of a standardized soil and different concentrations of compost/digestate. According to different classes of behavior responses, the sample is classified as good or bad quality (ON/OFF). The validity of this test was confirmed comparing the observations with the results from a standard chronic test developed by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Considering samples fro…
Current state and future of biogas and digestate production
2013
Over the past few years, the worldwide cost of energy has increased significantly, due to a growing global demand for energy and the decreasing availability of fossil fuel sources. Many countries are adopting environmental policies promoting the production and consumption of alternative, sustainable and renewable energy sources. Among these sources is green energy production through the anaerobic digestion of agricultural feedstock, like animal manure and food industry by-products, mainly aimed at producing biogas. Nevertheless, only a very small part of the biogas potential is currently used, while many European countries are facing huge problems caused by the overproduction of organic was…
Life Cycle Impact Assessment applied to cactus pear crop production for generating bioenergy and biofertiliser
2020
Among the potential uses of cactus pear, the generation of bioenergy (biogas) and biofertiliser (digestate), from the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of cladodes and fruits, is surveyed in this paper. Data for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was drawn from a farm located in Roccapalumba (Palermo, Sicily, Italy), where three cultivars were cultivated: 1) yellow pulp cultivar; 2) red pulp cultivar; 3) white pulp cultivar. LCIA was applied to six scenarios: 1) current dry crop; 2) current irrigated crop; 3) dry crop for fruit and bioenergy production; 4) irrigated crop for fruit and bioenergy production; 5) dry crop for bioenergy production; 6) irrigated crop for bioenergy production. According t…
Sustainable, circular and innovative value chains using growing substrata alternative to peat for the cultivation of nutraceutical species
2019
The modern agricultural system is wasteful, with Europe generating some 700 million tonnes of agricultural and food waste each year. In the context of the agri-food chain, the ‘circular economy’ aims to reduce waste while also making best use of the ‘wastes’ produced by using economically viable processes and procedures to increase their value. In this paper we will try to frame the key issues associated with food waste into the emerging bioeconomy and circular-economic mode, suggesting that these three concepts are intertwined, and considering them unitarily might provide win-win solutions that minimize wastage, promote income growth and job creation, and prompt sustainable local developme…
Sustainable Valorisation of Biowaste for Soilless Cultivation of Salvia Officinalis in a Circular Bioeconomy
2020
The aim of this work is to assess the usefulness of biowaste deriving from CircularBioeconomy (CBE) processes (i.e., vermicompost, compost and digestate), as growing substratesfor the partial or total replacement of peat, by measuring the vegetation biometric parameters ofsage (Salvia officinalis L.)&mdash
Parte V - Utilizzazione agronomica ed impatto sul sistema suolo-pianta 15. Aspetti biologici
2022
In this chapter authors focused on how and why biochar, compost, sewage sludge and digestate deriving from waste biomasses affect soil biological activities.
Review of the impact of biogas digestates on the microbiological quality of agricultural soils
2023
The global production of biogas has increased threefold during the last decade to partly replace fossil fuels, yet biogas production by anaerobic digestion generates substantial amounts of by-products named digestates. These biogas digestates can be recycled in soils to fertilize crops and to sequester carbon. However, the impact of digestates on the soil biological is actually poorly known. Here we reviewed the impact of digestates published in 56 articles reporting 23 microbial parameters. Half of the articles show neutral effects of biogas digestates and 7% showed negative effects. 25% of the articles show more stimulation of biogas digestates for the soil microbial quality, compared to …
Plants for Environmental Protection
2023
Plants for environmental protection are Anaerobic Digestion plants for converting biomass as Renewable Energy Source (RES), i.e. biowaste, agricultural feedstock, livestock effluents (manure and slurry) and food industry by-products, into biogas, i.e. bioenergy, as well as digestate, i.e. biofertiliser. In turn, biogas can be converted into electrical and thermal energy or can be used for extracting biomethane, i.e. biofuel, or can be injected in the natural gas grid. Moreover, digestate can be divided into solid and liquid fractions, that can be used for fertilisation or fertirrigation, respectively, sometimes after aerobic composting.