Manure-based anaerobic digestion (AD) systems serve multiple functions, including waste treatment, energy recovery, and nutrient cycling. However, they also entail additional energy consumption and pollutant emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is typically used to holistically quantify the actual environmental impacts of these systems. Nevertheless, comprehensive reviews synthesizing LCA studies in this field remain limited. Following PRISMA guidelines, this study conducted a systematic literature review of LCA studies on manure-based AD systems, focusing on advancements, inconsistencies, and limitations in LCA methodologies and environmental impact results. The findings indicate considerable variability in functional units, allocation methods, system boundaries, and inventory analysis methods across the literature. These methodological discrepancies and the lack of standardized protocols result in remarkable variability in environmental impact potentials. Additionally, there is lack of consensus on the environmental benefits of AD systems compared to traditional manure management, and co-digestion with energy crops or food waste compared to mono-digestion of manure. Consequently, the environmental impacts of manure-based AD systems remain inconclusive due to methodological heterogeneity and data inconsistencies. Future research should develop scientific and standardized approaches and focus on the completeness of system boundaries, selection of key environmental impact categories, environmental load allocation, inventory data quality, and the transparency of the analysis.
Wang et al. (2025) studied this question.