There are many advantages to farming, but there are also some drawbacks. Farm waste, including techniques such as recycling, reusing, composting, and energy recovery, can be used to help farmers get the best out of their farm waste.
Brian Beseni, a PhD candidate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) specialising in nutraceuticals into medicinal, nutritional, and cosmetic marketable products, gives more insight into how waste can be managed on a farm. He is a researcher at heart with several publications focused on pharmacognosy.
Beseni shares his expertise on secondary waste management, strategies and processes that are aimed at managing farm waste that has undergone some form of treatment or processing.
Turning agricultural waste into biogas
According to Beseni, a sustainable and environmentally beneficial method of producing biogas from agricultural waste is anaerobic digestion, which transforms organic materials like animal manure, crop leftovers, and food waste into biogas.
It can be done in the following ways:
- Feedstock collection: Farm waste, including animal manure, leftover crops, and agricultural residues, is collected, and stored in a designated area.
- Pre-treatment: Depending on the type of feedstock, pre-treatment may be necessary to enhance the efficiency of the digestion process. This can include shredding or grinding the waste materials to increase their surface area and improve biodegradation.
- Anaerobic digestion: The pre-treated feedstock is then loaded into an anaerobic digester, which is a sealed container or system where the decomposition of organic matter occurs in the absence of oxygen. The digester can be a simple batch system or a continuous flow system.
- Biogas production: Inside the digester, microorganisms break down the organic matter through a series of biochemical reactions. This process releases methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and small amounts of other gases collectively known as biogas. Methane is the primary component of biogas and is a valuable energy source.
In this episode, Beseni also discusses:
- Benefits of secondary waste management; and
- How he gained a new perspective on farming.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
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Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
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