Fugate, a waste product from biogas production, regularly used in agriculture as a fertiliser, may contain bacterial pathogens that cause zoonoses. Anaerobic digestion (AD) can inactivate viable pathogens, including parasites, viruses, and pathogens containing antibiotic resistance genes. This study aimed to compare the numbers of pathogenic bacteria and diversity of potential bacterial pathogens in the fugate using three different types of slurry: cattle, swine, and poultry manure. The swine fugate showed higher numbers of Clostridium perfringens and Campylobacter sp. than the poultry and cattle fugate. In the cattle fugate, the lowest total number of pathogenic bacteria and a low number of coliforms were detected after the AD. The use of cattle manure in biogas plants presents a lower potential for soil contamination with pathogens. The fugate produced using poultry or swine manure can be used carefully to avoid possibility of contamination of aquifers or surface waters. Also fugate produced from manure of cows suffering from chronic botulism can be used only with carefulness because of the presence of Clostridium botulinum spores in biogas waste of diseased cows.

Department of Microbiology Nutrition and Dietetics Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Animal Science Department of Physiology of Nutrition and Quality of Animal Products Prague Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Ayhan A, Liu QY, Alibas K, Unal H. Biogas production from maize silage and dairy cattle manure. J Anim Vet Adv. 2013 Nov 27;12(5):553-6.

Bagge E, Sahlstrom L, Albihn A. The effect of hygienic treatment on the microbial flora of biowaste at biogas plants. Water Res. 2005 Dec;39(20):4879-86. PubMed

Borowski S, Domanski J, Weatherley L. Anaerobic co-digestion of swine and poultry manure with municipal sewage sludge. Waste Manag. 2014 Feb;34(2):513-21. PubMed

European Commission. Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 of 25 February 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and implementing Council Directive 97/78/EC as regards certain samples and items exempt from veterinary checks at the border under that Directive. Off J Eur Union. 2011;L54:1-254.

da Costa PM, Loureiro L, Matos AJ. Transfer of multidrug-resistant bacteria between intermingled ecological niches: The interface between humans, animals and the environment. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Jan 14;10(1): 278-94. PubMed PMC

Fisher K, Phillips C. The ecology, epidemiology and virulence of Enterococcus. Microbiology (Reading). 2009 Jun; 155(Pt 6):1749-57. PubMed

Froschle B, Messelhausser U, Holler C, Lebuhn M. Fate of Clostridium botulinum and incidence of pathogenic clostridia in biogas processes. J Appl Microbiol. 2015 Oct; 119(4):936-47. PubMed

Kearney TE, Larkin MJ, Frost JP, Levett PN. Survival of pathogenic bacteria during mesophilic anaerobic digestion of animal waste. J Appl Bacteriol. 1993 Sep;75(3):215-9. PubMed

Koszel M, Lorencowicz E. Agricultural use of digestate as the replacement fertilizers. Farm Mach Process Manag Sustain Agric. 2015;7:119-24.

Kolar L, Kuzel S, Peterka J, Borova-Batt J. Agrochemical value of the liquid phase of wastes from fermenters during biogas production. Plant Soil Environ. 2010 Jan;56(1):23-7.

Manser ND, Wald I, Ergas SJ, Izurieta R, Mihelcic JR. Assessing the fate of Ascaris suum ova during mesophilic anaerobic digestion. Environ Sci Technol. 2015 Mar 3; 49(5):3128-35. PubMed

Neuhaus J, Shehata AA, Kruger M. Detection of pathogenic clostridia in biogas plant wastes. Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2015 Jan;60(1):15-9. PubMed

NRC – National Research Council. Nutrient requirements of poultry. 9

Prohaszka L, Baron F. Antibacterial effect of volatile fatty acids on enterobacteriaceae in the large intestine. Acta Vet Acad Sci Hung. 1982;30(1-3):9-16. PubMed

Rolka E, Wyszkowski M, Zolnowski AC, Skorwider MA, Szostek R, Wyzlic K, Borowski M. Digestate from an agricultural biogas plant as a factor shaping soil properties. Agronomy. 2024 Jul 14;14(7):1528.

Sahlstrom L. A review of survival of pathogenic bacteria in organic waste used in biogas plants. Bioresour Technol. 2003 Apr;87(2):161-6. PubMed

Sahlstrom L, Bagge E, Emmoth E, Holmqvist A, Danielsson-Tham ML, Albihn A. A laboratory study of survival of selected microorganisms after heat treatment of biowaste used in biogas plants. Bioresour Technol. 2008 Nov;99(16): 7859-65. PubMed

Weiland P. Biogas production: Current state and perspectives. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010 Jan;85(4):849-60. PubMed

Wiater J, Horysz M. Organic waste as a substrate in biogas production. J Ecol Eng. 2017 Sep;18(5):226-34.

Zhang Q, Zhang L, Du L, Zhang Y, Yi D, Zhao D, Ding B, Hou Y, Wu T. Dietary supplementation of natural tannin relieved intestinal injury and oxidative stress in piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. Czech J Anim Sci. 2023 Jul;68(7):296-305.

Zhang T, Liu L, Song Z, Ren G, Feng Y, Han X, Yang G. Biogas production by co-digestion of goat manure with three crop residues. PLoS One. 2013 Jun 25;8(6):e66845. PubMed PMC