Poultry litter: a sustainable energy and agricultural resource of Bangladesh

Abstract

Poultry litter has been creating nuisance in Gazipur district of Bangladesh over the last two
decades. It could be a good source of biogas and fertilizer if managed properly. An attempt
was made for the recycling of poultry litter through this study. The 300 million poultry birds
produce 18,000 metric tons (MT) of litter daily and if processed, it could generate I .4 million
m3 of biogas in Bangladesh. The Gazipur district produces 1,600 MT poultry litter per day
and consequently this corresponds to 0.12 million m3
/d of biogas
from which 7 MW electricity can be produced daily. This gas can be used for cooking,
poultry house heating and electricity generation. On the other hand, the slurry as the
byproduct of poultry litter has a potential value to be used as fertilizer which can meet macro
and micro nutrients demand of soil for crop production. The constituent of fertilizer are
16.69% organic matter, 11.17% moisture, 2.73% nitrogen, 3.29% phosphorus, 0.85%
potassium, 1.00% sulfur, 4.50% calcium, 2.52% magnesium, 0.21 % ferrous, 0.067%
manganese, 0.041 % boron, 0.034% zinc, 0.006% copper, etc.