Post-treatment and agricultural reuse of digestate from low-tech digesters: a comparative life cycle assessment
The objective of this study was to analyse the environmental impacts of the post-treatment and agricultural reuse of digestate from a low-tech digester implemented in a small-scale farm in Colombia using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The scenarios considered were: 1) digestate post-treatmen...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Data de publicação: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositório: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/392296 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/392296 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164992 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Biofertilizers Sewage -- Purification -- Anaerobic treatment Digestate Life cycle assessment Organic fertilizer Sand filter Small-scale digesters Vermifilter Adobs Digestió anaeròbia Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Agricultura::Fertilització Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Enginyeria ambiental::Tractament de l'aigua |
| Resumo: | The objective of this study was to analyse the environmental impacts of the post-treatment and agricultural reuse of digestate from a low-tech digester implemented in a small-scale farm in Colombia using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The scenarios considered were: 1) digestate post-treatment with a sand filter and its reuse in agriculture; 2) digestate post-treatment with a vermifilter and the production of compost, and 3) untreated digestate directly applied on the agricultural land (current scenario). Moreover, an economic analysis was also addressed. Results showed that the vermifilter was the most environmentally friendly scenario. It considerably reduced (by up to 9 times) the environmental impacts compared to the other scenarios. From an economic point of view, the implementation of the vermifilter generated an increase in farmers' income (up to 70 $ year-1) since it avoids buying synthetic fertilizer. Finally, the implementation of a vermifilter for the post-treatment and agricultural reuse of digestate from low-tech digesters showed to have both environmental and economic benefits. This technology can help to promote the circular bioeconomy in small-scale farms, reducing poverty and improving the standard of living in rural areas. |
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