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New process quickly transforms livestock manure into biochar

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2024-05-02 22:30:07

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

A technology has been developed to quickly convert livestock manure, a significant issue in animal farming, into valuable "black gold" rich in carbon within a day.

Dr. Yoo Ji-ho and his research team from the Clean Air Research Laboratory of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have developed a process that immediately converts livestock manure into biochar (biomass and charcoal) at livestock farms. Using the process developed by the research team, it is possible to convert 10 tons of livestock manure into biochar in a single day.

As of 2022, the amount of livestock manure produced was about 50 million tons, of which 87% is used as compost and liquid fertilizer after being fermented over a long period. However, during this long treatment process, which can last more than 60 days, nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas 300 times stronger than carbon dioxide, is emitted.