Negligible influence of livestock contaminants and sampling system on ammonia measurements with cavity ring-down spectroscopy

Abstract

Abstract. Emission of ammonia (NH3) is a ubiquitous problem due to the adverse effects of NH3 on the environment and human health. The agricultural sector accounts for nearly all NH3 emissions in Europe. Hence, technologies for the abatement of NH3 emissions from this sector have been in strong demand in recent years. In order to document emissions and evaluate abatement technologies, there is a strong need for reliable NH3 measurement methods. Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) is often used to measure NH3 concentrations, but recent research shows interference from compounds typically present in livestock production and during agricultural activities. In this work, the performance of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) from Picarro, as an alternative to PAS, has been tested with respect to method validation under laboratory and field conditions. Potential interferences of 10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on CRDS NH3 measurement were tested with simultaneous VOC analysis performed by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Both laboratory and field calibrations show excellent linearity over a large dynamic range of NH3 concentrations. The analyzer shows a small humidity effect of up to a few ppb in the extreme case of a nearly water-saturated air stream. Apart from the negligible humidity dependency, no interferences of the tested VOCs were observed. Overall, the CRDS system performs satisfactory and is well suited for measurements of NH3 emissions from livestock production.