Livestock manure processing methods and the use of processing by-products inJapan
Izumi Sasaki 1*, Hiroyoshi Fujiwara1, Motoki Sasaki 1
1: Japan Industrial Waste Information Center, 3-24-6 Ueno Frontier Tower Bldg. 13F, Taitou-ku,
Tokyo 110-0005, Japan*corresponding author: i_sasaki@jwnet.or.jp
Keywords: livestock manure, processing by-products, interview
INTRODUCTION
In October 2020, Japan declared its goal of achieving carbon neutrality, which means zero greenhouse gas
emissions overall, by 2050. In the field of agriculture, one of the goals is to promote the use of livestock manure,a biomass resource, for compost and energy. Livestock raised in Japan are mainly cattle (both dairy and alsobeef), pigs, and chickens (both egg laying hen and also broiler) and about 80 million tons of livestock manure
is discharged every year in Japan, which accounts for 20% of Japan's industrial waste. Livestock farmers
generally own their manure processing facilities in accordance with the Livestock Wastes Law, and a large
percentage of livestock manure is consumed as fertilizer by farmers. In recent years, international prices ofraw materials for chemical fertilizers have risen sharply, and fertilizer prices have also skyrocketed in price.
Under these circumstances, livestock manure has been attracting attention as a biomass resource, but there islittle information on the progress in processing technology of livestock manure, different processing methods
by the type of livestock manure, and the use of processing by-products. The aim of this survey is to interview
livestock farmers (LF) and livestock manure processing company (LMPC) about the information above, andto summarize the livestock manure management process in Japan.
METHODSInterviewed LF and LMPC
We selected 6 LF and 13 LMPC forTable 1. Types of LF and LMPC

interview. The number of survey sites areshown in Table 1. The target livestock

LF and LMPC

manure is described as following; DM (dairymanure), BM (beef manure), PM (pigmanure), EM (egg laying hen manure) andBRM (broiler manure).
Question items
The main question items were “moisturecontent(MC)ofmanure”,“manureprocessing methods”, “the use of the byproducts”, “the difficulties related to manureprocessing”.

manure type orprocessing methods

Number ofinvestigated
LF andLMPC222742DMBMPM
Composting
Methane fermentation
LMPC
Waste-to-energy
incineration* At the request of the farmer, we did not visit the farm where
the EM and BRM were discharged as a measure against
infectious diseases in livestock. Information on EM andBRM was obtained from LMPC.
LF

RESULTS
Livestock manure processing methods and the use of by-products by manure type
Table 2 shows how livestock manure is processed by LF and LMPC, and how the by-products are used.
Table 2. Livestock manure processing methods and the use of by-products by manure type
ManureMC,
Processing methods of manure and the use of by-products
type%w.b.
- LF process raw manure by aerobic fermentation to produce compost.
- LF apply raw manure or compost as fertilizer on their own fields or use compost
as bedding for their dairy cattle.
- LF outsource the processing of DM to PMLC which process manure byDM95%w.b.
composting or by methane fermentation.
- Digested liquid generated by methane fermentation process is sprayed onto LF’s
farmland by a manure spreader or sold as liquid fertilizer to crop farmers.
- Biogas generated by the methane fermentation process is used for gas power
generation.
- LF process raw manure by aerobic fermentation to produce compost.
BM60%w.b.
- LF apply compost as fertilizer on their fields or sold compost to crop farmers.
- LF separate manure into solid-liquid and the solid components processed intocompost. Compost is sold to crop farmers as fertilizer (some LF provide compost
PM>95%w.b.
free of charge).
- The liquid part is purified and discharged to river by LF.
- LF process raw manure by aerobic fermentation and make compost. Some LF
EM
90%w.b.
outsource the processing of EM to PMLC.
- LF outsource the processing of BRM to PMLC for waste-to-energy incineration.
Electricity is sold to an electric power company. Incinerated ash is sold to a
BRM
<50%w.b.
fertilizer manufacturer as a raw material for fertilizer.
- Some large scale LF have their own incineration plants on their site.
* The above are the results of this survey and are not common to all LF or LMPC in Japan.
Difficulties related to the use of by-products-There is small market for selling compost because many LF have small connection with crop farmer.

-There is small demand for manure and compost as fertilizer because of the heavy labor for spreading
manure, difficulties for manure spreader in getting over the fields ridge and difficulties for large manure
spreader in entering a small field.

-Compost producer must prepare the storage space to stock compost almost all year round because most
farmers only use fertilizer twice a year.

CONCLUSION
This survey found that while there are some difficulties related to the use of livestock manure by-products,
livestock manure processing methods were established for each livestock manure type by LF and LMPC. DM,BM, PM, and EM were mainly composted by LF, while BRM was used in some cases as a raw material for
waste-to-energy incineration by LMPC. BRM is considered to be suitable as raw material for incineration due
to its low MC, which reduces the energy required for drying. Other livestock manure has a higher MC thanBRM, making it difficult to transport, which is thought to be one of the reasons why it is rarely used as a raw
material for incinerations.

Livestock manure processing methods andthe use of processing by-products
in JapanIzumi Sasaki, Hiroyoshi Fujiwara, Motoki Sasaki

Japan Industrial Waste Information Center, Japan1. Introduction
Japan declared its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
broiler
egg laying 7.0%
hen
9.9%

Chicken
16.9%

Pig
26.4%
Net-zeroCO2emission

dairy cattle
27.3%

Livestockmanure,
80 million Cattle
tons per 56.7%
year• Material
recycle• Producing
renewableenergybeef cattle
29.4%

GHG emissions generated in 2019 in Japan
and GHG reduction targets for 20501)

Livestock manure generated in FY2021 in Japan bylivestock species2)

Figure based on “Japan's ENERGY (2022 EDITION)”(2022).

Figure based on “令和４年度事業産業廃棄物排出・処理状況調査報告書令和３年度速報値”(2023).

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1. Introduction
Japan relies on imports of chemical fertilizer raw materials fromabroad.
Saudi
ArabiaLivestock manure
recyclingRussiaBelorussiya

USA

IsraelMoroccoCanadaChina
Malaysia
Urea

China
Phosphorusammonia

Potassiumchlorides✓ Reduces theamount of waste✓ Stable domestic
fertilizer supply

Breakdown of countries from which Japan imported fertilizer raw materials in 20213)

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1. Introduction
Research objectiveSummarize the livestock manure management process inJapan to understand trends in carbon neutrality in thelivestock industry.

What we done
Conducted interview about livestock manure managementwith both livestock farmers(LF) and livestock manure
processing company(LMPC).
32. Method
Time period for survey

2022/6 ~ 2022/11

Interviewed LF and LMPC
• Livestock farm, 6• Composting plant, 7• Methane fermentation plant, 4• Direct combustion(waste-to-energy) plant, 2Interviewed items• Moisture content(MC).
• How to handle livestock manure.
• How to utilize manure processing by-products.
• Difficulties related to manure management.

LMPC4

2. MethodAbbreviation• Dairy manureDM• Beef manureBM• Pig manurePM• Egg laying hen manure

EM• Broiler manure

BRM

53. Results
Moisture content of livestock manure by livestock typeHigh MCLow MC

Livestock manure

DMBMPM

EMBRM

MC, %w.b.
Number of surveys

95260
2>95
290

40~500**Due to livestock quarantine measures, we didn’t conduct an interview with chicken farmers. Chicken

manure MC is based on what was interviewed from the LMPC.

Factors affecting moisture content of livestock manure• Amount of drinking water consumed by livestock.
• Mixing of dry materials (ex. sawdust).
• Frequency of livestock manure collection.
63. Results
Livestock manure processing methods and the use of by-products
MCHighMCLow

Processing methods
Self-processing by LF Outsourcing to• apply to farmland
LMPC
without processing.
• Composting.
• Solid-liquid separation. • Methane• Composting.
fermentation.
• Discharge to riverafter purification.
Processing methods

Use of by-products
Compost• apply to farmland as fertilizer.
• Sell to crop farmer.
• Reuse as cattle bedding.
Liquid fertilizer• apply to farmland as liquid fertilizer.

Outsourcing to LMPC
• direct combustion.
(waste-to-energy incineration).

73. Results
Difficulties related to livestock manure management⚫ Little interaction with crop farmers, making it difficult to find a fertilizer sellers.
⚫ Compared to chemical fertilizers, compost and liquid fertilizers require more laborto spread.
⚫ Farmland size or dikes are obstacles that prevent large heavy machinery fromentering the farm to spread fertilizer.

Littleinteraction
with cropfarmers
large heavy manure spreader

83. Results
Difficulties related to livestock manure management⚫ Need storage space for fertilizer
inventory
springusesummerstorage

fall
use

winterstorage⚫ Compost can get wet in the rainyseason, reducing the value of theproduct.

93. Results
Livestock manure processing methods by LMPC
Composting plant

Fermentation tank

Mixing equipment• Mechanically agitatedcomposting unit.
• Larger-scale processing.
• Wider range of customers forcompost.

Methane fermentation plant

Fermentation tankbuilding

Digested liquidstorage tank

Digested liquid• Solid-liquid separation.
• Use as compost or liquid fertilizer.
Biogas• Generate electricity.

104. Summary
Japan is dependent on
imports of fertilizers.

Recyclingof livestock
manure✓ Reduce GHG emissions✓ Contribute to stabilizing thedomestic fertilizer supply.

LF and LMPC had established theprocessing methods for livestock
manure recycling systems✓Composting✓Methane fermentation✓Direct combustion

Difficulties related to manure
processing by-products✓Supply✓Application✓Storage11

5. References
1)
2)

3)
4)

Agency for Natural Resources and Energy(2022). “Japan's ENERGY (2022 EDITION). Ministry of Economy.
https://www.enecho.meti.go.jp/en/category/brochures/pdf/japan_energy_2021.pdf, 15 Feb 2024.
Ministry of the Environment(2023). ”令和４年度事業産業廃棄物排出・処理状況調査報告書令和３年度速報値”.
https://www.env.go.jp/content/000123320.pdf, 15 Feb 2024.
農林水産省農産局技術普及課(2023). “肥料をめぐる情勢”. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/seisan/sien/sizai/s_hiryo/attach/pdf/HiryouMegujiR5-5.pdf, 15 Feb 2024.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(2021). “みどりの食料システム戦略 ～食料・農林水産業の生産力向上と持続性の両立をイノベーションで実現～（本体）”. Ministry of Agriculture.
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/kanbo/kankyo/seisaku/midori/attach/pdf/index-10.pdf, 15 Feb 2024.

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Thank you for listening.

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