Advancing Nitrogen Recovery from Livestock Manure Processing toward a Circular Economy in Agriculture

globally. If harnessed entirely, this nitrogen resource could replace a significant portion of the global demand for fertilizer nitrogen applied to crop fields. However, current manure management practices are inefficient and subject to major losses. In this study, we articulate critical challenges in manure nitrogen management and processing, as well as present an overview of recent advancements in technologies aimed at nitrogen reclamation from livestock manure, including membrane-based technologies and electrochemical techniques. The former achieves excellent total ammoniacal nitrogen recoveries of up to 95%, and the latter can be integrated with membranes or used independently to further enhance nitrogen recovery. We analyze the principles of these novel technologies, present a comprehensive understanding of how they work, and provide a critical evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. This review provides vital insights on nitrogen recovery from livestock manure, paving the way for a more sustainable future for manure management to achieve a circular economy in agriculture.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environmental Science & Technology
Published
2026-05-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c18515
Primary Topic
Phosphorus and nutrient management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Advancing Nitrogen Recovery from Livestock Manure Processing toward a Circular Economy in Agriculture

McKenzie Burns, Song Jin, Rebecca A. Larson, Kai Yang et al.
Environmental Science & Technology
Phosphorus and nutrient management
article

Advancing Nitrogen Recovery from Livestock Manure Processing toward a Circular Economy in Agriculture

McKenzie Burns, Song Jin, Rebecca A. Larson, Kai Yang, Mohan Qin, Zhijie Wang, Hanyu Tang, Fikile Brushett, Rui Wang
article en

Abstract

globally. If harnessed entirely, this nitrogen resource could replace a significant portion of the global demand for fertilizer nitrogen applied to crop fields. However, current manure management practices are inefficient and subject to major losses. In this study, we articulate critical challenges in manure nitrogen management and processing, as well as present an overview of recent advancements in technologies aimed at nitrogen reclamation from livestock manure, including membrane-based technologies and electrochemical techniques. The former achieves excellent total ammoniacal nitrogen recoveries of up to 95%, and the latter can be integrated with membranes or used independently to further enhance nitrogen recovery. We analyze the principles of these novel technologies, present a comprehensive understanding of how they work, and provide a critical evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. This review provides vital insights on nitrogen recovery from livestock manure, paving the way for a more sustainable future for manure management to achieve a circular economy in agriculture.

Environmental Science & Technology
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Phosphorus and nutrient management
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