Rural Development Administration launches follow-up research on combustion ash; converting 1 million tons could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 500,000 tons and replace $33.4 million worth of coal

A chart illustrating the limitations of current livestock waste disposal policy and the case for transitioning to new approaches. [Rural Development Administration]
A chart illustrating the limitations of current livestock waste disposal policy and the case for transitioning to new approaches. [Rural Development Administration]

The government has launched follow-up research to recycle ash left over from burning livestock waste solid fuel as a raw material for fertilizer, building on earlier work to use the fuel in power generation.

The Rural Development Administration said Thursday it has been conducting research since April on using combustion ash from livestock waste solid fuel as a fertilizer ingredient.

Livestock waste has proven difficult to use as a stable fuel source because its calorific value and quality can vary widely depending on the raw material. In response, the National Institute of Animal Science under the Rural Development Administration has been analyzing how storage duration and the mixing ratio of agricultural byproducts affect fuel characteristics, with the aim of establishing quality control standards.

Research found that cattle manure stored inside a barn for about three months maintains conditions suitable for the solid fuel production process. The mixing ratio of agricultural byproducts was also confirmed to be applicable at up to 40 percent.

Those findings have been incorporated into regulatory improvements, including allowing the blending of supplementary materials such as agricultural byproducts and applying differentiated calorific value standards depending on whether blending is used.

From 2024 through 2025, the National Institute of Animal Science worked with power companies to conduct pilot combustion tests using a total of 635 tons of livestock waste solid fuel, verifying its viability as a power generation fuel and assessing combustion stability.

Building on those results, the Rural Development Administration has been conducting follow-up research since April to reduce the burden of ash disposal and recover useful components — including phosphorus — from the ash for use as fertilizer ingredients.

The research will focus on analyzing the properties of combustion ash, developing technology to extract useful components, and evaluating the feasibility of converting the material into fertilizer and applying it to crops.

The National Institute of Animal Science estimates that converting 1 million tons of livestock waste currently processed as compost into solid fuel could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 500,000 tons and replace coal worth 50.6 billion won ($33.4 million).

"We have confirmed the potential to use livestock waste not merely as something to be disposed of, but as an energy resource," said Jang Gil-won, head of the Smart Livestock Environment Division at the National Institute of Animal Science. "We will continue research to expand the use of solid fuel and achieve carbon neutrality in the livestock sector."


adastra@heraldcorp.com