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POULTRY MANURE AS A SUBSTRATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

Piotr Kucharski

Abstract

A total of 13.2 million tons of poultry meat were produced in 2017 in the European Union, with Poland?s contribution to that production being the greatest (17.7%). The amount of poultry manure generated in Poland is estimated to be on a level of 3.2 to 3.5 million tons per year. Such a significant mass of waste constitutes a problem for the environment. Due to its properties and the scale of the problem, the management of poultry manure still constitutes a major challenge as well as a field for research. Poultry manure is effectively utilised in agriculture in the form of soil conditioners and as fodder for fish and cattle; it may also be utilised as a substrate for fuel production. Despite the potential benefits stemming from the utilisation of poultry manure in the industry and the environment, it should be used with care. Uncontrolled storage and improper use of poultry manure results in significant CO2 and NH3 emissions to the atmosphere or in discharge of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds to water. Another issue is raised by trace elements and undesired organic compounds that may accumulate in the environment. The origins of undesired chemical compounds in poultry manure depend primarily on factors such as the species and condition of the poultry or the method of its keeping, including the method of manure management, the quality of the fodder and the material used for the bedding. The significant diversification in terms of the trace substance content in poultry manure constitutes a real problem from the perspective of selecting the purpose of its future utilisation. Many technologies that allow to minimise the harmful influence of poultry manure on the environment have been developed over the recent years. These technologies include energy recovery, composting or the immobilisation of potentially harmful components through the use of appropriate sorbents. Each of these technologies entails its own individual requirements concerning the quality of the substrate as well as the specific properties of the end products of the poultry manure transformation process. This article presents the variability of the chemical composition of poultry manure, depending on the species of the poultry as well as the methods of feeding and keeping the animals. Several hundred analysed and compiled examinations made it possible to develop an own method supporting the optimal utilisation of manure.

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