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Temporal distribution characteristics of odorous compounds in swine houses of South Korea

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Abstract

Currently odor problems caused by animal feeding operation play a role in provoking environmental civil petition. The objectives of this study were to investigate the monthly distribution characteristics of 22 offensive odor compounds in swine houses, which are under regulation in Korea, and to compare their levels according to ventilation type and manure treatment mode. During the 1 year survey between July 2021 and June 2022, air samples were collected. In this study, ammonia was observed at the highest levels (the annual mean, 13.9 × 103 ppb) among other offensive odorous compound regardless of the types of swine house and seasons, followed by fatty acids (139.9 ppb), sulfuric odorous compounds (52.3 ppb), volatile organic compounds (27.5 ppb), and trimethyl amine (24.5 ppb). Furthermore, hydrogen sulfide among sulfur compounds, methyl ethyl ketone among volatile organic compounds, and propionic acid and n-butylic acid among fatty acids were observed to the highest level of several hundreds of ppb. In particular, five aldehydes (acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, n-valeraldehyde, and i-valeraldehyde) among the 22 offensive odor-generating compounds were not detected in any season. The levels of odorous compounds were the highest in winter (Dec.–Feb.) and lowest in summer (June–Aug.). For comparison of overall distribution regarding concentrations of odorous compounds by ventilation type and manure removal mode, relatively lower concentrations were observed in swine houses with forced ventilation or with scrapper type. Our findings indicate that annual monitoring for these odorous compounds would be necessary for establishment of control strategy. Also, installation of active ventilation, as well as the increase of removal frequency of pig manure could contribute to lower concentrations of odorous compounds in swine buildings.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to permission of the institution that supported the current study but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Research Program funded by the Seoul Tech (Seoul National University of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Seogyung University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Sung-Chul Seo

  2. Graduate School of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Woo-Je Lee, Doo-Young Kim & Ki-Youn Kim

  3. Department of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Ki-Youn Kim

Authors
  1. Sung-Chul Seo
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  2. Woo-Je Lee
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  4. Ki-Youn Kim
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Correspondence to Ki-Youn Kim.

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This is an observational study. The Research Ethics Committee of Seoul National University of Science & Technology has confirmed that no ethical approval is required

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Seo, SC., Lee, WJ., Kim, DY. et al. Temporal distribution characteristics of odorous compounds in swine houses of South Korea. Air Qual Atmos Health 16, 2003–2017 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-023-01387-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-023-01387-0

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