The objective of this project is to investigate the application of gasification technologies to the treatment of swine waste for the ultimate production of fuel-grade ethanol. This waste treatment system would reduce the negative environmental impact of current manure management systems. The research objectives are: 1) to develop and test a system for harvesting swine manure in a form dry enough to be used as a gasification feedstock, 2) to establish the feasibility and the gasification conditions for the swine waste/amendments feedstock, 3) to characterize the end products of gasification (ethanol and mineral ash) and their potential markets, and 4) to conduct a rigorous economic analysis on the entire swine manure management model to determine its feasibility along with the factors that promote or impede its implementation.

Our research thus far has shown that swine manure can be a suitable feedstock for gasification. The belt system (an alternative waste management system) has the potential to dry the swine waste to more than 60% DM. The final conclusion regarding the feasibility of gasifying swine waste will be dependent upon the economic analysis of the entire housing and gasification system. A decision support system (DSS) will be developed that stimulates and optimizes the whole chain from animal production to manure spreading or processing. The system will assess the logistics, economics, and environmental effects for each of the elements of the chain. An economic/environmental sensitivity analysis of gasification as a manure processing technology will be performed by changing the options (such as subsidies on ethanol), the constraints (particularly the regulatory context), and the model assumptions. The results will be compared to an environmentally sustainable system based on current technologies, waste disposal by land application at agronomic rates that avoid eutrophic consequences.