Design of a management plan for solid waste generated by the livestock industry in the municipality of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico

Animal production is one of the main activities practiced in Chihuahua area and other country states. During the past 50 years, this sector has experienced dramatic changes, as a consequence of a growing population, income increase and a progressive urbanization. According to the increase in the demand of animal products, It is expected that in this region animal origin food demand is going to double in size in two decades. This has ended in an increase in animal management practices under intensive confined systems with rare or null planning. The negative environmental impacts generated are more severe in countries with less availability of economic resources to maintain and use technology for the residue treatment. In the present study, it was established a plan and use of manure accumulated in farms, under total or partial confinement, with the purpose of being applied by the farmer and minimize environmental problems detected in the sector. It was used Landsat 7TM images and digital models of evaluation to locate areas and characterize their physical-environmental conditions. It was applied questionnaires to know the conditions in which these activities are carried out; the production capacity of biogas/methane was estimated as a function of the organic material contained the amount of accumulated manure and the animal excretion rate. There were located a total of 25 places with 2224 farmers in a small scale established nearby the Municipality, the inventory consisted of 18962 heads which accumulates 57343.2 kg/day of manure, the plan proposed to the farmers shows corrective measures for the designs and location of corrals where the application of manure recollection, transport and disposal can be performed. Likewise, it is proposed a bio-methanization technology as the most viable way to make the most of manures from their content of total solids (ST), volatiles (SV), chemical oxygen demand (DQO), lowmetal content, and the area dry conditions. It is estimated thatthe anaerobic fermentation of the accumulated manure wouldgenerate, under optimum conditions, 6835 m3 day of biogas equivalent to 4785 m3 of methane daily.