Proper management of livestock waste can generate benefits and contribute to environmental sustainability.

Benefits of liquid/solid separation

Proper slurry management is one of the main challenges of the future of the pig sector. Faced with growing pig numbers and increasingly more demanding administrative requirements in environmental terms, livestock waste limits the growth potential of farms, especially in areas with a high concentration of pig production or a scarcity of arable land. If these farms have efficient solid separation systems, then this is the first step towards treating livestock waste and making financial gains from it.

How can slurry management costs be reduced?

Slurry is an excellent organic fertiliser that is applied directly to the fields. This management model is highly sustainable, but it does need a few hectares of land that are increasingly difficult to find, especially in areas with high concentrations of livestock, which entails an increase in transport costs.

On-site separation of the liquid and solid phase of slurry means the same amount of slurry can be managed on up to 20% less land (if the limiting factor of the application is nitrogen), or up to 50% less land (if the limiting factor is phosphorus) for the liquid phase, and there is money to be made from the solid phase. At the same time, this avoids problems with foul odours and the sedimentation and clogging of cesspools during times of year when it cannot be applied to the fields.