Analysis of the Fertilizer and Energy Utilization Potential of Livestock and Poultry Manure Resources—A Case Study Concerning Liaoning Province, China

The efficient resource utilization of livestock manure has received extensive attention worldwide at present, and the related resource utilization technology has been continuously improved, while the potential for the utilization of livestock manure in terms of fertilizer and energy is not yet clear. In order to more accurately assess the potential for fertilizing and energizing livestock manure, this study took Liaoning Province, a large livestock and poultry farming province in China, as an example. Based on statistical data and field research, this study assessed the potential for fertilizing and energizing livestock manure based on calculating the amount of livestock manure resources in Liaoning Province in 2023 by applying the method of excretion coefficients and other methods. The results show that (1) the total amount of livestock manure resources in Liaoning Province in 2023 was 104.41 × 106 t; (2) the amounts of organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) that the livestock manure could be converted into were 18.86 × 10⁶ t, 2.03 × 10⁶ t, 3.05 × 10⁶ t, and 2.26 × 10⁶ t, respectively, which was sufficient to replace the total amount of chemical fertilizer application in Liaoning Province; and (3) the total energization of livestock manure in Liaoning Province could be converted into 3826.73 × 104 t standard coal or 1950.61 × 107 m3 biogas, respectively. The results of this study can provide a reference basis for the preliminary estimation of the potential of livestock manure resource utilization in China and even in the world, which is of great significance for the global reduction in the dependence on chemical fertilizers, the optimization of the energy structure, and the maintenance of the ecological balance. This can also help to promote the improvement of the policies related to the resource utilization of livestock manure to achieve the high efficiency of the resource utilization of livestock manure.