Odour and ammonia emissions from pig and poultry units

Abstract

Odour and ammonia emission rates were measured at three pig units, three broiler unitsand one layer unit. The ventilation rates in the pig and poultry houses were calculated usingreadings from an anemometer and a CO2 sensor. Ammonia concentrations were measured usingDraeger tubes and an electrochemical sensor. Air samples were collected in exhaust ventilation airon site and odour concentrations in the samples were determined using an ECOMA T07olfactometer. Mean odour and ammonia emission rates for finishing pigs ranged from 6.0-10.7 OuEs-1 pig-1 and 8.4-10.0 g day-1 pig-1, respectively. The minimum odour emission rate in pig housingwas 4.6 OuE s-1 pig-1 for 1st stage weaners and the maximum was 66.4 OuE s-1 pig-1 for farrowinghouses. Mean odour and ammonia emission rates for broilers ranged from 0.45-0.55 OuE s-1 bird-1and 0.14-0.42 g day-1 bird-1, respectively. The layer unit had a low odour concentration but a similarodour emission rate of 0.43 OuE s-1 bird-1. Most of the emission rates were comparable to thosefound by other researchers. However, there is a lack of unanimity in the literature and a scarcity ofpublished data, particularly for poultry units. The variability in the figures highlights the need forindividual site assessment. The emission rates are useful as inputs to atmospheric dispersionmodels to determine appropriate setback distances. Further research is being carried out on other pig and poultry units to assess the influence of factors such as building design, manuremanagement, unit operation and diet.