From livestock manure to renewable energy: multicriteria assessment of carbon footprint and environmental impacts

Growing concerns over global warming and environmental degradation emphasize the need for sustainable waste management and renewable energy solutions. This study conducts a comprehensive multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) assessment of manure from six livestock and poultry types in Turkey-dairy cow, buffalo, beef cattle, sheep, goat, and chicken-focusing on their carbon footprint and environmental impacts. Fourteen criteria were used for evaluation, including greenhouse gas emissions, biogas potential, volatile solids, and nutrient composition. To determine the most sustainable manure source, three MCDM methods were applied: analytic hierarchy process, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution, and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR - Multi-Criteria Optimization and Compromise Solution). The analytic hierarchy process provided the criteria weights through pairwise comparisons, while the other two methods ranked alternatives based on proximity to the ideal solution. All methods consistently identified beef cattle manure as the optimal option. This integrated MCDM framework offers insights for policy makers to improve manure management strategies balancing environmental impact reduction and renewable energy production.