Abstract
ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of anaerobic digestion and biogas production by manure from pig supplemented with ractopamine over different periods. We used manure of 50 finishing pigs according to the following diets: without supplementation and supplemented with 20-ppm ractopamine during 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days pre-slaughter. Continuous bench biodigesters were used in the experiment. We measured biogas production and made analyses of total (TS) and volatile solids (VS), pH, total phosphorus (total P), total nitrogen (total N) and ammoniacal nitrogen (ammoniacal N) in samples of manure, affluent and effluent from biodigesters. The pH and ammoniacal N as indicator parameters of the process balance and stability were satisfactory. Moreover, there was no difference in the reduction of TS and VS (50.04 and 56.51%, respectively). Manure of animals supplemented with ractopamine for 35 and 28 days presented higher biogas production (0.0722 and 0.0603 m3 kg−1, respectively). The supplementation with 20-ppm ractopamine for finishing pigs from 7 to 35 days does not present collapse risks for the anaerobic biodigestion process.
Highlights
Ractopamine hydrochloride, a beta-adrenergic agonist with nutrient partitioning function, has been used in pig farming due to its ability to redistribute nutrients that would be destined for lipids synthesis and deposition for muscular tissue deposition (Ferreira et al, 2013).It is a synthetic drug and its use as a growth promoter is approved in countries with significant pig production, as the United States, Brazil and Canada, which currently occupy respectively the third, fourth and seventh positions in the ranking of world production
The manure was derived from 50 barrows with initial and final weight re spectively of 65.85 ± 4.34 and 96.55 ± 5.17 kg, housed in stalls at the Swine Sector of the Experimental Farm located at Anaerobic biodigestion of finishing pig manure supplemented with ractopamine over different periods the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
The improvement in weight gain for animals supplemented for 28 days pre-slaughter, combined with low feed conversion, may result in benefit to the producer when considering the total of animals slaughtered, feed cost savings and carcass quality, especially if there is a bonus for lean carcasses
Summary
Ractopamine hydrochloride, a beta-adrenergic agonist with nutrient partitioning function, has been used in pig farming due to its ability to redistribute nutrients that would be destined for lipids synthesis and deposition for muscular tissue deposition (Ferreira et al, 2013). It is a synthetic drug and its use as a growth promoter is approved in countries with significant pig production, as the United States, Brazil and Canada, which currently occupy respectively the third, fourth and seventh positions in the ranking of world production. It is scarce the information about the effects of this additive on the manure characteristics and resulting effects on the environment and/or manure treatment systems
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