Abstract
Ammonia emissions from poultry farms, including waste stockpiles, can degrade the environment and may be regulated in the USA. The main purpose of this study was to see how different poultry waste storage methods impacted ammonia loss. During a 13-day lab study, ammonia flux from uncovered (Control), covered with an inexpensive blue tarpaulin (Tarp), and stockpiles twice the depth of the Control stockpiles (Double-depth) were compared. Ammonia concentrations in the exhaust airstream from the stockpiles were measured using boric acid scrubbers. Ammonia loss per unit surface from the Tarp treatment was 45 % lower than the other treatments, while on a volume basis, losses from the Tarp and Double-depth treatment were 45 % vs. the Control stockpile. A less-pervious cover might have reduced ammonia losses even more. Ammonia flux per unit area from the Control and Double-depth treatments were comparable to those from large stockpiles in a shed monitored in a companion study though flux per unit volume was much higher from the lab stockpiles due to larger surface area per unit volume. Therefore, compared with a flatter stockpile, a more compact stockpile with a lower surface area per unit volume would have lower ammonia loss. Ammonia diffusion from the core of the stockpile to the surface may control ammonia flux, even in larger stockpiles in the short term (≤15 days), with nitrogen mineralization playing a smaller role. The 250-mL 3 % boric acid scrubbers were suitable for sampling air streams with ammonia concentrations up to 1,000 mg m−3 at 25 °C. At 25 °C, three moles of boric acid seemed adequate for each mole of ammonia to be trapped.
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Acknowledgments
This research was partly funded by the USDA-CSREES under the National Research Initiative Program (Award No. 2005‐05111) and the USDA Special Grants Program. H. Yao was partially supported by the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE), North Carolina State University, with an MS assistantship. BAE research associate C. Baird provided valuable support. The chemical analyses were performed at the BAE Environmental Analysis Lab. The authors are grateful to the broiler producer for providing the broiler cake.
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Shah, S.B., Yao, H. & Osborne, J.A. Storage Method Impacts on Ammonia Flux from Broiler Cake and Acid Scrubbers for High Ammonia Concentration Measurements. Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 1840 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1840-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1840-6