Register      Login
Animal Production Science Animal Production Science Society
Food, fibre and pharmaceuticals from animals
RESEARCH FRONT

Developing zero-discharge pig-farming system: a feasibility study in Malaysia

J. B. Liang A F , E. Kayawake B , T. Sekine C , S. Suzuki D and K. K. Lim E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Malaysia.

B Aqua Corporation, Isazu 100, Maizuru, Kyoto 624-0816, Japan.

C Chichibu Aquatic Life Laboratory, Onohara 978-1, Chichibu, Saitama368-0005, Japan.

D Ex-Corporation, 17-22, Takada 2 chome, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0033, Japan.

E N0. 5879, Jalan Kampung Paya, 12200 Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.

F Corresponding author. Email: jbliang@upm.edu.my

Animal Production Science 57(8) 1598-1602 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15669
Submitted: 29 September 2015  Accepted: 14 March 2016   Published: 9 June 2016

Abstract

Pig production in many rapidly developing Asian countries evolved from traditional small-family farms without parallel increase in land resource for waste treatment, thus further worsening the already fragile environment. The present paper reports results of a feasibility study on developing a zero-waste discharge pig-farming system in the hot-humid environment such as Malaysia. The approach included (1) reduction in the usage of water, (2) use of micro-algal culture (MAC) system to reduce pollutants in the wastewater and (3) use of constructed wetlands to further clean up wastewater and reduce its volume via evapo-transpiration. Results of the study showed that water usage could be reduced from the current 40–50 to 7.5 L/pig.day. The biological oxygen demand of the effluent was reduced to below 10 mg/L, while other pollutants, such as suspended solid, total nitrogen and total ammonium nitrogen were also reduced to levels that meet the standards required for affluent discharge in most countries in this region. Water-balance study based on a 180-pig experiment showed that 1.15 m3 of water were used daily and this was reduced to 0.38 m3 at the end of the system. Financial projection study based on a farm size of 2000 pigs (which represents a typical pig-farm size in many developing countries, including Malaysia) was conducted to gauge the economical viability of the system. The results showed that the primary challenge to the adoption of this system is its high initial investment costs, estimated to be 1.8 times those for a similar-sized traditional farm with open-sided house and lagoons for wastewater treatment. However, higher productivity is expected from the use of a ventilated close-house that provides a cooler environment for the pigs. This, together with the premium price of the pigs that could be fetched from this eco-friendly production system, would make it a technically and economically viable system in the long run.

Additional keywords: chlorella, constructed wetland, evapo-transpiration, eco-friendly pig production, internal rate of return, wastewater treatment.


References

Cassidy KO (2011) Evaluating algae growth at different temperatures. MSc Thesis, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Available at http://uknowledge.uky.edu/bae_etds/3 [Verified 28 December 2015]

Costales A, Gerber P, Steinfeld H (2006) ‘Underneath the livestock revolution.’ (Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome)

Liang JB, Suzuki S, Kawamura A, Habasaki A, Kato T (2008) Opportunities and challenges of converting biogas from pig farms into renewable energy in developing countries in Asia: a Malaysian experience. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48, 54–59.
Opportunities and challenges of converting biogas from pig farms into renewable energy in developing countries in Asia: a Malaysian experience.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD1cXovVGm&md5=244c070ff4a5f5c6cfdc23984a6918d4CAS |

Ong HK (2002) Livestock waste management in Southeast Asia. In ‘Proceedings of the 4th international livestock waste management symposium’, Penang, Malaysia, 19–23 May 2002. (Eds HK Ong, I Zulkifli, TP Tee, JB Liang) pp. 59–67. (Malaysian Society of Animal Production: Selangor, Malaysia)

Rajendran K, Aslanzadeh S, Taherzadeh MJ (2012) Household biogas digesters: a review. Energies 5, 2911–2942.
Household biogas digesters: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC38Xht1Gqs7bN&md5=6553b9983102563390374542a0193d68CAS |

Vu TKV, Dinh XT (2012) ‘Survey on impact assessment of climate change on livestock production.’ (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: Hanoi, Vietnam)

Vu TKV, Vu DQ, Jensen LS, Sommer SG, Bruun S (2015) Life cycle assessment of biogas production in small-scale household digesters in Vietnam. Asian–Australian Journal of Animal Science 28, 716–729.