US engineers have proposed a new method for processing manure into fuel

“The increasing use of antibiotics and pesticides in agriculture poses a significant risk to human health and the environment, so it is essential to develop measures to mitigate their negative impacts,” said one of the authors of the work, Associate Professor Carsten Prasse.

Researchers have studied the prospects for processing manure using anaerobic digestion, that is, fermentation of biomaterial in an oxygen-free environment. A similar approach is already used for sewage sludge treatment.

Scientists analyzed 20 common substances from cattle waste during anaerobic digestion in the laboratory. They found that 11 of these elements decayed, creating 47 new compounds in the process.

The team also made another important discovery: Removing chlorine from organic compounds results in less persistent and often less toxic transformation products.