Development of ammonia mass transfer coefficient models for the atmosphere above two types of the slatted floors in a pig house using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Ammonia emissions from animal production systems are a concern due to their potential adverse effects on the environment. It is important for governments to adjust their policies to control ammonia emissions from animal production. To evaluate and quantify emission factors, process-based modelling is a cost-effective procedure, particularly due to the complex and diverse transfer chains. During the modelling process, ammonia mass transfer coefficient is one of the key parameters to be determined. However, inconsistencies are found in widely used expressions for mass transfer coefficients in ammonia volatilization models. This study used CFD simulations to derive the mass transfer coefficients above metal and concrete slatted floor in an experimental pig houses with 12 full-scale pig pens. Five ammonia mass transfer coefficient models were selected for comparison with the models derived from CFD simulations. It was noticed that the models derived from wind tunnel/flux chamber experiments usually predicted lower values of ammonia mass transfer coefficients compared to the models developed from full-scale measurements and/or numerical modelling. Care is needed to extrapolate the relationships developed under controlled laboratory conditions to the commercial barns. The results indicated also that the ammonia mass transfer coefficient relies heavily on the airflow patterns which could be affected by the ventilation systems, location of the inlet and outlets, internal partitions, floor types etc.. This makes it very difficult to present a universal ammonia mass transfer coefficient model for pig houses.