GIS-based analysis to assess biogas energy potential as support for manure management in Southern Italy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21014/actaimeko.v13i1.1688Keywords:
N surplus, anaerobic digestion, kernel density, manure treatmentAbstract
Anaerobic digestion can provide a valuable aid to manure management while producing renewable energy. Biogas production is highly dependent on the size and composition of livestock farms, and the availability of fresh manure can vary throughout the year, limiting reliable assessment of potential production. The aim of this study is to develop an affordable GIS-based analysis to support manure management, based on a highly detailed livestock farm database. Databases refer to the years 2013 and 2019 and report the herd consistency and the age of each class head. Kernel density (KD) was used to identify emerging hotspot areas with potentially high concentrations of nitrogen applied to the field. Three KD classification methods were compared: defined interval (DI) into 3 classes (0-170, 170-340, > 340 kg N/ha), quantile (Q) and natural break (NB). The results show that the DI and NB areas correspond to 40 % and 84 % of the total N of buffalo origin in the Campania region, with a N surplus in the hotspot areas localized in nitrate vulnerable zones of 55 and 6 % respectively. The biogas produced from 50 % of the buffalo manure in these areas generates sufficient energy to allow the removal of the N surplus.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ester Scotto di Perta, Elena Cervelli, Raffaele Grieco, Antonio Mautone, Stefania Pindozzi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
