Biogas digestate: money, smells and pollutants

A friend from Piedmont writes to me, asking what I think about DIGESTATE.
The agronomic use of digestate is a form of fertilisation produced by biogas plants. Approved in 2009 in the Piedmont region, third in terms of plant distribution after Lombardy and Puglia, it represents a loophole in the procedures concerning the complex and costly disposal of waste. It is a departure from waste regulations that reconfirms what I think: “agriculture is the carpet under which dust is swept”, and by dust, I mean all substances that need to be eliminated in some way. Therefore, the so-called “circular economy” established by universities and included in EU programmes is nothing more than the legalisation of this vicious circle.

The reuse of waste or garbage recovery is certainly not a new phenomenon, but the problem lies in the disproportionate increase in population, which has quadrupled in the last 100 years (from just under 2 billion to over 8 billion), and in the quantity and type of substances produced.

What is digestate and what does it really involve?

Digestate is a product obtained from the anaerobic digestion (in the absence of oxygen) of bacteria that feed on agricultural plant biomass, sewage sludge and livestock waste (animal faeces, to be clear... but not only that, also animal carcasses with risks of contamination and spread of pathogens). Bacteria or fungi inoculated in biogas plants decompose these organic materials, producing gas (methane). In fact, in the areas where they are located, anyone can smell a strong odour of sulphur/ammonia that irritates the eyes, nose and throat. We know that sulphur and nitrogen oxide produce acid rain, posing a serious threat to the environment, and that ammonia contributes to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and atmospheric nitrogen deposition, with consequences for ecosystems.

Furthermore, agricultural plant biomass is polluted by the treatments applied to it, and the chemical residues subjected to this process generate a recombination of contaminating molecules. We should also consider the antibiotic residues in digestate and the presence of hormones in animal manure.

Far from being a valuable resource, digestate is a waste product derived from waste. It cannot therefore regenerate the soil or enable high-quality agricultural production, as is often claimed.

The economic paradox of biogas: emissions and environmental impacts

The overall picture is yet another example of humanity's folly, which, in order to turn the problem of waste into a source of income (biogas as a renewable energy source), is once again reducing the quality of life.

Instead of implementing these perverse logic, i.e. turning waste into money, it is urgent to intervene through environmental purification. In this sense, BioAksxter® depolluting bioformulations restore the biological balance of the agroecosystem without disguising waste as resources. Their use in agriculture and animal husbandry reduces pathogenic microbial loads, eliminating odours and restoring the natural microbiological activity of the soil. This approach does not create by-products to be disposed of, but reactivates the vital processes underlying fertility. In today's world, however, the opposite prevails.

Moral: given that there are 8 billion people on Earth, let's think about the state of the soil, air and water! In this regard, I recommend “imagining” how much remains in circulation, because simply quoting figures does not have the same effect. For example, let's multiply the volume of faeces/poo produced daily by eight billion people. This exercise led me to two situations: on the one hand, those who see the problem as a source of income (we could call it a shitty idea, like turning it into fertiliser) and, on the other hand, those who face reality and say, “we have to eat it”.

“Tanta merda!” (lots of shit!) is the superstitious expression used by theatregoers to wish for a successful performance. The origins of this expression date back to the 17th century when people went to the theatre by horse and carriage and, as they were 'parked” for hours, “lots of shit” accumulated. In the theatre of life, however, that wish has a completely different meaning.

Regulations on digestate: a world that reeks of business

Today, there are over 2,000 biogas production plants in Italy (80% of which are on farms) and 20,000 in Europe. The idea of turning manure into money is only a matter of time. 

A document dated March 2014 reports conflicting positions on the legal classification of digestate (first as waste, then as a by-product, livestock waste and finally as a product) and its agronomic use, with the hope of a shared and peaceful solution to the dispute that has for too long created problems for a sector that is becoming important in the Piedmonts’ agricultural context.

In 2018, in a memorandum of understanding to protect soil, water and air quality in the region, everyone agreed:

the Piedmont Region, the Departments of the Environment and Agriculture, the Po River Basin Authority, the Piedmont Regional Agency for Environmental Protection, the Piedmont Regional Agency for Agricultural Subsidies, the University of Turin - Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences and Research and Third Mission Directorate, Interregional Federation of Agronomists and Foresters of Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta, Regional Federation of Direct Farmers of Piedmont, Italian Confederation of Farmers of Piedmont, Confagricoltura of Piedmont, Regional Association of Livestock Farmers of Piedmont, Monviso Agroenergia Consortium, Italian Biogas Consortium, Federchimica-Assofertilizzanti.

With money in the air, a way was found to pass it off as an urgent measure for the country's growth, sustainable and labelled as a circular economy, a necessary condition for achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Lies that undermine quality of life.

A perfect example of material regeneration, reuse and recycling, which, in addition to being good for the environment, is also very good for the economy, is also highlighted by the estimate of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health at the United Nations University in Hamilton, Canada, which states that ‘if all the excrement produced by the world's population in a year were converted into biogas, it could produce electricity for 138 million homes, worth 9.5 billion dollars’.

When it comes to money, the whole world is the same.

In 2010, when biogas plants were required to have sufficient Sau for spreading digestate, in Trentino they gave it away to people. They already intended to get them used to it for when they would be able to sell digestate as fertiliser.

For those wondering what digestate is used for, the answer is clear: to turn organic waste into money.