*Mitigation of Environmental Impact of Intensive Animal Farming through Conversion… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105131*

adopted by livestock farmers. Using the two processes can significantly limit the leakage of N from the digestate into the environment.

Furthermore, our two processes can produce value-added products including protein-based antioxidant feed additives and concentrated N solutions from which renewable nitrogen fertilizers or non-zero carbon renewable energy source can be recovered. These products can help close the nitrogen loop in the livestock operation that is currently broken, given abundant applications of synthetic fertilizers and frequent use of protein-based feeds. The nitrogen in the recovered protein from manure/digestate solids can go back to animals as feed, while the nitrogen recovered from manure/digestate liquids can grow crops, and the nitrogen in the crops can be recycled back to animals as feed as well. Additionally, our recovered NH3 is renewable NH3 produced without fossil fuels and highly energy-intensive processes such as the Haber-Bosch process or water electrolysis.

Intense animal operations (IAO) are expected to grow, given the increasing demand for meats and dairy products worldwide. Accordingly, regulations on manure management will be likely tightened to keep the environmental consequences by IAO under control. Yet, regulations can go only so far as to mitigate the environmental consequences. Our processes add economic incentives to livestock farmers by bringing extra revenue streams which will help livestock farmers, some of whom may be under financial stress due to increasingly higher costs for the operations.
