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A review of trends in the use of sewage irrigation technology from the livestock and poultry breeding industries for farmlands

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Abstract

Sewage from large-scale livestock and poultry breeding can be used to irrigate farmland, which is an effective measure to treat sewage in a cost- and energy-efficient manner and to ensure the sustainable use of water resources. However, sewage irrigation can negatively impact soil, groundwater, and human health due to low water quality, and studies addressing the advances in technology and risk evaluation of sewage irrigation have practical significance. This paper summarizes the three main aspects of this issue: sewage treatment technology, safe sewage irrigation technology, and risk and safety evaluation of the irrigation process. The main progress and problems associated with sewage irrigation technology are summarized, and future directions in sewage irrigation technology development are discussed. Finally, methods are proposed to address the specific problems that should be considered in the design of irrigation systems, such as the selection of the irrigation equipment, sewage irrigation scheduling, and the most appropriate evaluation method and index system to assess the ecological risk.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51809119; 51939005), Youth Talent Development Program of Jiangsu University and the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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  1. Research Center of Fluid Machinery Engineering and Technology, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Yue Jiang, You Tang & Hong Li

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  1. Yue Jiang
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Correspondence to Yue Jiang.

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Jiang, Y., Tang, Y. & Li, H. A review of trends in the use of sewage irrigation technology from the livestock and poultry breeding industries for farmlands. Irrig Sci 40, 297–308 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00794-y

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