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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316116
Title: Reducing swine farm ammonia emission with a full-scale manure treatment system

Author
item Ro, Kyoung
item Vanotti, Matias
item Szogi, Ariel

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2015
Publication Date: 6/22/2015
Citation: Ro, K.S., Vanotti, M.B., Szogi, A.A. 2015. Reducing swine farm ammonia emission with a full-scale manure treatment system. In: Proceedings of Air & Waste Management Associations 108th Annual Conference and Exhibition: Connecting the Dots: Environmental Quality to Climate, June 22-24, 2015, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Interpretive Summary: This study investigated the impact of a full-scale wastewater treatment system installed on a 5000-head swine farm on ammonia emission. Before the wastewater treatment system cleaned the treatment lagoons of the farm, the ammonia emission rates were 0.8 and 2.64 grams per second. However, after the treatment system operation was fully stabilized, the ammonia concentration in the lagoons were substantially reduced. As a result, the ammonia emission decreased to less than detection limits of emission measurement instruments. This result clearly demonstrated that the full-scale wastewater treatment system substantially reduced ammonia emission from the swine farm.

Technical Abstract: A new full-scale treatment system in its second-generation was implemented at a 5000-head finishing swine farm in North Carolina to improve treatment lagoon water quality and reduce ammonia emissions. The system combined high-rate solid-liquid separation with nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes. In two years (2007 to 2008), the ammonia concentration in the lagoon was reduced from the 370-485 to lower than 15 milligram per liter (mg L-1). The ammonia emission rates from the farm were measured using the vertical radial plume mapping method during 12/7/2006 to 9/1/2008. The downwind path integrated concentrations of ammonia were measured with an open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer mounted on an automatic positioning system. The ammonia emission rates measured on 12/7/2006 (just a day before start of the new treatment system) and 2/22/2007 were 0.80 and 2.64 grams per second (g/s), respectively. However, after the treatment operation was fully stabilized for the rest of 2007, six downwind ammonia concentrations measured in 2008 (4/4/2008, 7/23/2008, 7/24/2008, 8/20/2008, 9/16/2008, and 9/17/2008) were all below the detection limit. These data clearly demonstrated that the new treatment system substantially reduced ammonia emission from the swine farm.