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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Kimberly, Idaho » Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #411563
Research Project: Developing Resilient Irrigated Cropping Systems in Concentrated Dairy Production Areas of the Semi-arid West

Location: Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research

Title: National greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential from adopting anaerobic digestion on large-scale dairy farms in the United States

Author
item GREENE, JONAH - Sustainability Science Llc
item WALLACE, JIM - Wallace Environmental Consulting, Inc
item WILLIAMS, ROBERT - University Of California, Davis
item Leytem, April
item BOCK, BERT - Br Bock Consulting, Inc
item MCCULLY, MIKE - The Mccully Consulting
item KAFFKA, STEPHEN - University Of California, Davis
item Rotz, Clarence - Al
item QUINN, JASON - Sustainability Science Llc

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2024
Publication Date: 7/2/2024
Citation: Greene, J.M., Wallace, J., Williams, R.B., Leytem, A.B., Bock, B.R., Mccully, M., Kaffka, S.R., Rotz, C.A., Quinn, J.C. 2024. National greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential from adopting anaerobic digestion on large-scale dairy farms in the United States. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c00367.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c00367

Interpretive Summary: Anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy manure is a well-established technology with an immense potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the dairy industry while providing a substantial source of renewable energy from manure. This study offers a robust quantification of the greenhouse gas reduction potential of industry-level adoption of AD technology on large-scale dairy farms in the contiguous United States. National GHG reduction estimates are established through a robust life cycle modeling framework considering 22 dairy configurations that capture important differences in housing and manure management practices, applicable AD technologies, regional climates, storage cleanout schedule, and methods of land application. Results illustrate the potential for AD adoption to reduce GHG emissions from the dairy industry by 2.90 million metric tonnes (MMT) of CO2-eq per year considering current economic barriers, and as much as 5.17 MMT of CO2-eq per year with economic barriers removed. Discussion focuses on regional differences in GHG emissions from manure management strategies, the implications of system boundary expansion, and further opportunities to apply the robust modeling framework developed in this study.

Technical Abstract: Waste-to-energy systems can provide a functional demonstration of the economic and environmental benefits of circularity, innovation, and reimagining existing systems. This study offers a robust quantification of the greenhouse gas reduction potential of industry-level adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology on large-scale dairy farms in the contiguous United States. National GHG reduction estimates were developed through a robust life cycle modeling framework considering 20 dairy configurations that capture important differences in housing and manure management practices, applicable AD technologies, regional climates, storage cleanout schedules, and methods of land application. Results illustrate the potential for AD adoption to reduce GHG emissions from the dairy industry by 2.90 million metric tonnes (MMT) of CO2-eq per year considering current economic barriers, and as much as 5.17 MMT of CO2-eq per year with economic barriers removed. At the farm level, AD technology may reduce GHG emissions from manure management systems by 55-77% depending on the region. Discussion focuses on regional differences in GHG emissions from manure management strategies and the challenges and opportunities surrounding AD adoption.