Greenhouse gas emissions in effluent treatment systems on dairy farms

Abstract

Various greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CH₄ (methane), N₂O (Nitrous oxide), CO₂ (carbon dioxide) are generated during livestock farming activities, having a great noxious effect for the environment. The effluents produced by these activities are treated with different systems, usually made up by effluent ponds that treat the wastewater originated, but at the same time they are generators of GHG. The purpose of this research is to assess and quantify the GHG´s emissions on dairy farms using two different technologies.