'Money-Making Cow Dung' Turned into New and Renewable Energy... "World's First"

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs - NongHyup - Hyundai Steel
Business Agreement on Using 'Uboon' Solid Fuel in Steelworks

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea has established the world's first system to produce steel at a steel mill using solid fuel made from cow dung (manure from cows and dairy cows). The plan is to produce steel using "profitable cow dung." Even replacing just 1% of the 120 million tons (t) of imported thermal coal annually with solid fuel made from cow dung is expected to save about 150 billion KRW.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it signed a "Memorandum of Understanding for the Promotion of Production and Use of Solid Fuel from Cow Dung" with the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and Hyundai Steel. This system converts livestock manure, a headache for livestock farms, into solid fuel to be used as an eco-friendly fuel at steel mills, thereby establishing a framework that leads to greenhouse gas reduction.

Following the agreement, the following are expected to proceed: ▲ Solid fuel system and financial support (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) ▲ Establishment of production and supply base for solid fuel (Nonghyup) ▲ Promotion and expansion of cow dung solid fuel use at steel mills (Hyundai Steel) ▲ Support for technology development (Rural Development Administration). This enables the use of livestock manure, a major issue in the livestock sector, as a "new and renewable energy source." Not only the production base and distribution system have been established, but also a stable system for large-scale consumers such as steel mills to use it has been put in place.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated that the agreement will enhance economic value as well as enable greenhouse gas reduction. According to the ministry, 51.94 million tons of livestock manure were generated annually as of last year. Currently, more than 90% of livestock manure is made into fertilizer such as compost or liquid fertilizer and spread on soil. However, with decreasing farmland and stricter regulations such as compost maturity standards, it has become increasingly difficult to manage.

The ministry expects that utilizing livestock manure as fuel will actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 22 million tons of cow dung are produced annually, of which about 96.5% (21 million tons) is made into compost and spread on farmland. According to the Ministry of Environment, about 2.728 million CO2 tons of greenhouse gases were estimated to be emitted this year. In other words, using just 10% (2.2 million tons) of cow dung as solid fuel could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 300,000 CO2 tons.

One ton of solid fuel made from cow dung produces energy equivalent to 0.5 tons of thermal coal. According to the Korea International Trade Association, the average import price of thermal coal this year is around 120,000 KRW per ton. Solid fuel from cow dung is estimated to have an economic value of about 60,000 KRW per ton. Even replacing just 1% of the annual thermal coal imports of 126.52 million tons with solid fuel from cow dung would result in an import substitution effect of about 150 billion KRW.

Kim Hyun-soo, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, emphasized, "The 'solid manure,' which was difficult to utilize beyond compost, is now being used as a new and renewable energy source called 'solid fuel,' which is expected to accelerate greenhouse gas reduction in the agricultural sector. Starting with close win-win cooperation between agriculture and the steel industry, brought about by carbon neutrality, we will continue to promote greenhouse gas reduction activities and achieve 'eco-friendly co-growth.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.