Articles
PIG MORTALITY COMPOST AND ITS COST IN MEXICO
Article number
1076_15
Pages
137 – 141
Language
English
Abstract
Swine farms produce organic matter which has a negative impact in our environment.
Indeed, it increases the transmission of infectious diseases in farms, if not managed properly.
Some methods of mortality disposal treatment are burial, incineration, the use of containers and composting.
However, the latter has not been entirely accepted yet by the pig industry in Mexico.
As a result, it is necessary to develop scientific protocols to show how feasible the process is.
The base compost was built with 360 kilograms of recuperated solids, obtained from the farm effluent pit; 160 kilograms of milled oat straw; and 480 liters of tap water.
This mix was co-composted with the pig mortality and the organic matter derived from the slaughter process.
Stone made bins were used to hold the mixed materials.
The immature compost was manually mixed every 30 days.
To monitor the degradation process, an infrared thermometer and a hygrometer were used.
The required amount of water was added, in order to keep the right humidity level, and avoid the leachate formation.
Pearson correlation coefficient was obtained to show relationship between temperature and monitoring time elapsed to degradate swine carcasses.
The average amount of organic matter composted per week was 205.4 kilograms.
The time required to produce a metric ton of compost was 72.5 hours, so the cost of labor was US$ 42 per metric ton.
The temperature trend alongside the evaluation period showed a temperature tendency indicative of degradation of the raw material.
These results indicate the viability of the process to be implemented in Mexican swine farms, however, it is necessary to do additional research to analytically demonstrate the specific degradation of the biomolecules contained in such organic matter.
Indeed, it increases the transmission of infectious diseases in farms, if not managed properly.
Some methods of mortality disposal treatment are burial, incineration, the use of containers and composting.
However, the latter has not been entirely accepted yet by the pig industry in Mexico.
As a result, it is necessary to develop scientific protocols to show how feasible the process is.
The base compost was built with 360 kilograms of recuperated solids, obtained from the farm effluent pit; 160 kilograms of milled oat straw; and 480 liters of tap water.
This mix was co-composted with the pig mortality and the organic matter derived from the slaughter process.
Stone made bins were used to hold the mixed materials.
The immature compost was manually mixed every 30 days.
To monitor the degradation process, an infrared thermometer and a hygrometer were used.
The required amount of water was added, in order to keep the right humidity level, and avoid the leachate formation.
Pearson correlation coefficient was obtained to show relationship between temperature and monitoring time elapsed to degradate swine carcasses.
The average amount of organic matter composted per week was 205.4 kilograms.
The time required to produce a metric ton of compost was 72.5 hours, so the cost of labor was US$ 42 per metric ton.
The temperature trend alongside the evaluation period showed a temperature tendency indicative of degradation of the raw material.
These results indicate the viability of the process to be implemented in Mexican swine farms, however, it is necessary to do additional research to analytically demonstrate the specific degradation of the biomolecules contained in such organic matter.
Authors
A. Vargas, E. Mendoza, M.E. Trujillo, L.B. Reyes
Keywords
compost, pig carcasses, organic matter
Online Articles (28)