Ministry of Agriculture launches heat-pump pilot at Pocheon livestock cooperative to convert swine waste into solid fuel; economic viability to be verified by December

The photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
The photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

A technology that can compress months of composting into just a few hours — turning pig manure directly into solid fuel — is moving to field trials. The goal is to rapidly process swine waste, which has been harder to convert into fuel than cattle manure due to its high moisture content, and in doing so reduce the manure buildup and odor problems that burden livestock farms.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Tuesday it is launching a field demonstration project to convert pig manure into solid fuel using heat-pump technology at the Pocheon Livestock Cooperative's resource recovery facility.

A heat pump absorbs thermal energy from low-temperature sources such as air or geothermal heat, then raises it to high temperatures through compression and condensation for use in heating or drying. The ministry will apply the energy-efficient technology to the pig manure drying process to verify whether solid fuel production is commercially viable.

Pig manure has long been more difficult to convert into solid fuel than cattle manure because of its high moisture content and distinct physical properties. The large amounts of energy and cost required to remove that moisture during drying have also been a barrier to commercialization.

The central aim of the pilot is to dramatically cut processing time. Turning pig manure into compost through conventional methods requires a maturation period of several months or more, but the ministry said rapid drying and pelletizing with a heat pump can complete the conversion to solid fuel within a matter of hours.

The ministry plans to optimize the heat-pump-based drying and pelletizing process and verify its economic viability by December. It will also examine whether the solid fuel produced can be put to practical use at power plants.

The ministry expects that faster on-site processing of pig manure immediately after it is generated will help reduce long-term accumulation on farms and lower odor emissions. The pilot will also explore whether the solid fuel could serve as a substitute for fossil fuels and contribute to expanding renewable energy supply.

"Through the demonstration running through December, we will closely verify the technological maturity and economic viability of heat-pump-based pig manure solid fuel," said Lee Jae-sik, director of livestock policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "Based on the results, we will apply solid fuel conversion to pig farms as well, and work to significantly ease the manure disposal burden on pig farmers and the environmental strain caused by odors."


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