LCA Food 2012 in Saint Malo, France! - Manifestations et colloques ...

GROUP 1, SESSION A: ANIMAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
24. Reduction of GHG emissions from broilers fed a phytogenic
additive
Stefan Hörtenhuber 1,2,* , Martin Veit 3
1 Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) Austria, 2 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
Vienna, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, 3 Delacon Biotechnik GmbH, Steyregg, Austria,
Corresponding author. E-mail: stefan.hoertenhuber@fibl.org
Mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from broiler production may be achieved by various options,
including increased performance, changes in diets and adaptations for housing and litter management
systems (LMS). The overall aim of this study was to analyse GHG emissions from broiler production in Austria
including a quantification of the impact of feeding the phytogenic feed additive “Biostrong® 510” (BSG;
Delacon Biotechnik GmbH, Steyregg, Austria). Methods and emission factors for calculation of emitted NH3
and GHG are based on IPCC (2006), Anderl et al. (2011), and Hörtenhuber et al. (2011). The reducing effect
concerning NH3 emissions is derived from experimental data (Jelinek et al. 2004). Performance data and data
on nitrogen excretion were taken from van Krimpen (2011).
The calculated CO2-equivalents per kg BSG are about 2.0 kg. The inclusion of BSG in broiler feed (150
ppm) does not increase the feed production-related GHG emissions (less than 0.1%) per ton of feed. Emissions
from the basal diet (corn, soybeans, wheat) were found to be the most important drivers for GHG emissions
for broilers (see Fig. 1). It was concluded that GHG emissions per kg live weight could be reduced by
5% (4 to 6%, depending on the origin and production methods for feedstuffs and raw materials), if the cornsoy-wheat
diet was supplemented with BSG. According to van Krimpen (2011), who analysed 18 comparable
trials with BSG, this reduction is achieved by: (1) Improved digestibility and thus a better feed conversion
ratio (contributing 60% of the reduction), which also results in (2) less excreted nitrogen (responsible
for 20% of the reduction); (3) saponins in BSG directly inhibit NH3 formation (Weber et al., 2012; 20% of
reduction). Considering that the use of this feed additive does not demand for major changes in supply chains
or cost-intensive investments, the reduction of about 5% of GHG emissions is remarkable. Furthermore, it is
possible to combine the feed additive’s effect with other mitigation options (e.g. adaptations in LMS). The
improved feed conversion and lower mortality (see van Krimpen, 2011) also result in a higher profit.
References
Anderl, M., Freudenschuß, A. , et al., 2011. Austria's National Inventory Report 2011. Submission under
UNFCC and under the Kyoto Protocol. Vienna, Austria.
Hörtenhuber, S., Lindenthal, T., Zollitsch, W., 2011. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from feed supply
chains by utilizing regionally produced protein sources - the case of Austrian dairy production. Journal
of the Science of Food and Agriculture 91, 1118-1127.
IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change), 2006. Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
[Available at www.ipccnggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html].
Jelinek, A., Dědina, M., Plíva, P., Souček, J., 2004. Research of biological agents effects on reduction of
ammonia concentration in stables of intensive farm animals breeding. Res. Agr. Eng., 50(2), 43-53.
van Krimpen, M., 2011. Assessing the effect of the phytogenic feed additive Biostrong® 510 on performance
and ammonia emissions in broilers. Confidential report 281. ISSN 1570 - 8616.
Weber, T., Veit, M., Wendler, K.R., Weghuber, J., Höglinger, O., 2012. Evaluation of ammonia reduction
potential of saponin containing plant materials by measurement of urease inhibition. In: Mair, C., Kraft,
M., Wetscherek, W., Schedle, K. (Eds.), Proc. of the 11 th BOKU-Symposium Tierernährung. Vienna,
Austria, 19 April 2012. University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna, Austria. pp.
213-215.
687