Dairy manure with a total solids content of 77.2 g TS/l was separated by means of screening and coagulation-flocculation treatments, using CaO as coagulant and a cationic polyacrylamide as flocculant, obtaining liquid and solid fractions. The solid fraction separated contained 33.4% of the initial total mass of dairy manure plus chemical solutions, containing also 75.2% of the TS, 80.4% of the VS, 58.5% of the total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and 87.4% of the total phosphorus (PT) present in the initial dairy manure. 83.7% of the liquid fraction chemical oxygen demand (COD) was anaerobically biodegradable (CODBD). Methane production for the separated liquid fraction was 0.6041 CH4 NCTP/g VS added, being 0.307 and 0.3711 CH4 NCTP/g VS added for dairy manure and screened dairy manure, respectively. The characteristics of this liquid fraction would allow its treatment in high loading anaerobic reactors having shorter hydraulic retention times, smaller reactor size and a higher methane volumetric production rate than conventional anaerobic reactors treating either manure or screened manure. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.