Ina Körner*1, Henrich Roeper1, Helmut Adwiraah1, Rainer Stegmann1, Jan Hujsmans2, Nico Ogink3, Ahmad Makmom Abdullah4, Mohd Nasir Hassan4, Wan Nor Azmin Sulaiman4and Thiam Ming Chee4
1Institute of WasteResourceManagement, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany; 2 Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research Center, Netherlands; 3 Animal Science Group, Wageningen University and Research Center, Netherlands,4Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Putra Malaysia; *Email: i.koerner@tu-harburg.de
Today, chicken manure can cause serious problems in many regions world-wide. Chicken manure is not only difficult to handle due to its consistency, it also generates problems from foul odours and may contain pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites. Uncontrolled use may lead to pollution of ground water and spreading of diseases. On the other hand, manure is a valuable resource for crop production due to its high nutrient content, especially with respect to phosphorus and nitrogen. As a result, manure application may also be interesting from an economical point of view.
In Asia, since chickens are a popular food in increasing demand because of the increasing standard of living and population size, it is expected that the amounts of chicken manure will increase drastically in the future. In Malaysia alone, the amount of chicken manure generated is approximately 14,000 tonnes per day. Today, land application of the untreated chicken manure is the most common outlet in Asia. Furthermore, the use of manure as feed, e.g. in fish ponds, is also a common practice. To
overcome these uncontrolled and make use of the value-added properties of agricultural wastes, various treatments can be applied.
In Europe, a wide range of treatment methods are used already. The type of treatment chosen depends on the kind of waste and the regional
situation. Options range from drying to composting, anaerobic digestion or pelletizing. Valuable products, such as pellets or composts, may be
produced. They can be pathogen-free, easy to store and handle, enriched by nutrients and may be used in agriculture to substitute expensive mineral fertilizers. For anaerobic digestion, biogas is an additional valuable product.
Another option with an energetic output is incineration.
The EU-funded project, Chicken Manure Treatment and Application (CHIMATRA), aims to spread knowledge and enhance the transfer of economical and environmentally-friendly chicken manure treatment and application technologies to Asia. Key activities so far have included the organisation of a workshop, conference and training course, the
preparation of promotional material, and the setting-up of demonstration pavilions. More practical aspects included the development of a low-tech pelletizing system, the investigation of the distribution behaviour of pellets, and surveying the chicken manure challenges in Malaysia. The information will be disseminated to a network of professionals from
sectors such as research organizations, authorities, manure producers and applicants, and equipment producers. More information can be found under www.chimatra.com. The project is a joint cooperation between the Institute of WasteResourceManagement, Hamburg University of
Technology (TUHH), Germany, the Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia, and Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), the Netherlands. This work is financed by the European Union, under scope of the programme ASIA-PRO-ECO, and by the City of Hamburg.
The CHIMATRA-project has so far resulted the following outputs:
1) A workshop on “Chicken Manure Treatment and Application”, which summarised state-of-the-art options, was carried out in Hamburg in January 2005, with more than 50 participants from around the world;
2) An international conference on “Agricultural Wastes”, with a specific focus on South East Asian countries, was carried out in Kuala Lumpur in March 2006, with more than 160 participants mainly from Asia;
3) A training course on “Chicken Manure Treatment and Application”, introducing the most important techniques to chicken farmers and managers, took place in Kuala Lumpur in March 2006, for 44 participants;
4) The proceedings to the workshop and an extended-abstract book of the conference were published (see References);
5) A brochure entitled “Chicken Manure Treatment and Application”, summarising the problems and possibilities in a colourful and easy-to-understand way, in English, Chinese and Malay;
6) A video in the same 3 languages as an educational documentation of the topic.
Ongoing activities include the following:
1) The TUHH is developing a treatment method for chicken manure which includes agglomeration, hygienization and drying. The method aims to be economical and easy to implement on European and Asian farms.
The end products are spherical, easy to apply pellets;
2) The UPM is to carry out an evaluation regarding chicken manure production in Malaysia, and to evaluate the manure quality on selected farms through a questionnaire and by laboratory analysis.
Furthermore, a study tour around selected Asian countries will extend the focus and gain more involvement from other countries;
3) The WUR is to carry out investigations into the application of chicken manure products. These include plant tests, as well as pellet
distribution tests;
4) An internet-accessible database containing contact details of all groups involved in the field of chicken manure is to be set up. It will cover research institutes, public, governmental and municipal authorities, chicken manure producers, fertilizer users and producers of
technological equipment;
5) Demonstration pavilions are being constructed to contain modules such as equipment, posters and information leaflets, which demonstrate the variety of different treatment and product options. The main pavilion will be installed in Malaysia at the UPM campus, while smaller ones will be set up in Germany and the Netherlands.
References
CHIMATRA – Chicken Manure Treatment and Application – Proceedings Workshop, Verlag Abfall aktuell, ISBN 3-9810064-3-7
ICAW06 – Extended Abstract Book “Turning Waste to Wealth”, ICAW Conference 21.-23.03.2006. Putrajaya, Malaysia
Chicken Manure Treatment and Application – Educational Brochure, TUHH, UPM, WUR, available online: www.chimatra.com
Chicken Manure Treatment and Application – Educational Video, TUHH, UPM, WUR, available online:www.chimatra.com