Abstract

Poultry litter, a waste product from broiler farming, can be transformed into biogas when subjected to anaerobic biodigestion. This study proposes to evaluate the potential of poultry litter for energy generation in order to meet the energy demands of the poultry production chain in the southwest region of the state of Parana - Brazil, when used as a substrate for the production of biogas. Based on the volumes of biogas produced, the viability of biogas production was determined. The results reveal that the anaerobic biodigestion process was efficient in biogas production. It was also possible to determine that the use of poultry litter in biogas production is viable, since the raw material for its production is available in the entire southwest region of Paraná. The presentation of the three treatments proved to be important, because in the three systems the production of significant quantities of biogas was possible, constituting a potential replacement for non-renewable fuel sources derived from petroleum.

Key words: Biogas, energy, waste, biomass.