Options
The Potential for Hydrolysed Sheep Wool as a Sustainable Source of Fertiliser for Irish Agriculture
Author(s)
Date Issued
2021-12-30
Date Available
2022-07-05T09:50:05Z
Abstract
Suppressed wool prices in Ireland over the last number of years has led to situations where the cost of shearing animals is greater than the wools’ value, leading to net losses per animal for farmers. Populations of sheep in Ireland and nutrient values of wool from literature sources were used to determine the quantity of nutrients that could be produced on an annual basis using hydrolysis techniques. Results of this study suggest that up to 15.8% of the nitrogen required to produce Ireland’s cereal crops can be met annually using hydrolysed sheep wool in an economically feasible manner along with considerable amounts of sulphur, zinc, and copper. Most of the cost associated with the process is the purchasing of wool from farmers at an economically favourable level for farmers. Based on the spatial distribution of these animals, the town of Athlone is the most suitable location for a processing facility.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
MDPI
Journal
Sustainability
Volume
14
Issue
1
Start Page
1
End Page
12
Copyright (Published Version)
2021 The Authors
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2071-1050
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
File(s)
Loading...
Name
Gillespie.G_2021,1.pdf
Size
2.55 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0a10c0bafb46f54602cbcbbaa5afcfdf
Owning collection
Mapped collections