Air treatment technologies in pig farms. Life cycle assessment of dry and wet scrubbers in Northern Italy and Northeastern Spain
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Author
Costantini, Michele
Zoli, Michele
Andón, Miquel
Guarino, Marcella
Bacenetti, Jacopo
Publication date
2024-02-24ISSN
0048-9697
Abstract
Over the years, different solutions were developed and tested to reduce the emissions of ammonia and particulate matter from the livestock facilities. The environmental performances of these solutions were not always evaluated in detail.
This study examines the environmental footprint of pig production at farm gate, with a focus on emissions from housing. Using Life Cycle Assessment, the environmental impact of pig production in a transition farm in Spain and in two finishing farms in Italy was evaluated considering three scenarios (one baseline and two of them involving an air treatment technology: wet scrubber or dry scrubber).
The study goal was to quantify the environmental footprint of pig production in different scenarios, identify key environmental hotspots, and to assess impact reduction efficiency due to the two assessed technologies, analyze the environmental trade-offs that come with the use of these technologies, and identify potential for improvements.
Both wet and dry scrubbers showed potential for reducing emissions in pig housing, affecting environmental impact categories related to air pollutants such as particulate matter, acidification and eutrophication. However, there were trade-offs between emissions reduction and categories related to energy and resource use. The infrastructure and consumables required to operate the scrubber added to the impacts compared to the baseline.
The dry scrubber showed a more favorable balance between emission reduction and trade-offs. In this regard, results were similar for the Spanish and Italian farms, although there were slight variations. Scrubbers had a greater effect in the Italian farms due to their use along longer periods of the pig fattening (closed cycle farms) compared to the Spanish farm (transition farm).
Scrubbers are environmentally promising, especially where acidification, eutrophication and particulate matter are local problems. However, they alone cannot fully address the complex environmental impacts of pig production, which require comprehensive interventions across the supply chain.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
Pages
11
Publisher
Elsevier
Is part of
Science of the Total Environment
Citation
Ruiz-Colmenero, Marta, Michele Costantini, Ariadna Bàllega, Michele Zoli, Miquel Andón, Miriam Cerrillo, Emma Fàbrega, August Bonmatí, Marcella Guarino, and Jacopo Bacenetti. 2024. “Air Treatment Technologies in Pig Farms. Life Cycle Assessment of Dry and Wet Scrubbers in Northern Italy and Northeastern Spain.” Science of the Total Environment 922. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171197.
Grant agreement number
EC/LIFE/LIFE18 ENV-IT-000200/EU/Smart computing system to monitor and abate the indoor concentrations of NH3, CH4 and PM in pig farms/Life-MEGA
Program
Benestar Animal
Sostenibilitat en Biosistemes
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/