Anaerobic Biotreatment of Animal Manure - A review of current knowledge and direction for future research -

Anaerobic decomposition is one of the most common processes in nature and has been extensively used in waste and wastewater treatment for several centuries. New applications and system modifications continue to be adapted making the process either more effective, less expensive, or suited to the particular waste in question and the operation to which it is to be applied. Animal manure is a highly biodegradable organic material and will naturally undergo anaerobic fermentation, resulting in release of noxious odors, such as in manure storage pits. Depending on the presence or absence of oxygen in the manure, biological treatment process may be either aerobic or anaerobic. Under anaerobic conditions, bacteria carry on fermentative metabolisms to break down the complex organic substances into simpler organic acids and then convert them to ultimately formed methane and carbon dioxide. Anaerobic biological systems for animal manure treatment include anaerobic lagoons and anaerobic digesters. Methane and carbon dioxide are the principal end products of controlled anaerobic digestion. These two gases are collectively called biogas. The biogas contains $60\~70\%$ methane and can be used directly as a fuel for heating or electrical power generation. Trace amounts of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide ($100\~300\;ppm$) are always present in the biogas stream. Anaerobic lagoons have found widespread application in the treatment of animal manure because of their low initial costs, ease of operation and convenience of loading by gravity flow from the animal buildings. The main disadvantage is the release of odors from the open surfaces of the lagoons, especially during the spring warm-up or if the lagoons are overloaded. However, if the lagoons are covered and gases are collected, the odor problems can be solved and the methane collected can be used as a fuel. Anaerobic digesters are air-tight, enclosed vessels and are used to digest manure in a well-controlled environment, thus resulting in higher digestion rates and smaller space requirements than anaerobic lagoons. Anaerobic digesters are usually heated and mixed to maximize treatment efficiency and biogas production. The objective of this work was to review a current anaerobic biological treatment of animal manure for effective new technologies in the future.