AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM SWINE WASTE LAGOON IN THE UTAH GREAT BASIN

Authors: Harper, Lowry; WEAVER, K - SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY; DOTSON, R - SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2005
Publication Date: 1/5/2006
Citation: Harper, L.A., Weaver, K.H., Dotson, R.A. 2006. Ammonia emissions from swine waste lagoon in the utah great basin. Journal of Environmental Quality. v. 35 p. 224-230.

Interpretive Summary: In animal feeding operations(poultry, beef, and swine), it is difficult to manage wastes economically for minimizing gaseous losses of nitrogen, like ammonia, which may harm the environment. Researchers at the J. Phil Campbell Sr., Natural Resources Conservation Center, USDA-ARS, Watkinsville, GA, and Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT, measured lagoon chemical and climate factors at a swine feeding operation in the Central Great Basin of the U.S. These measurements were used to determine ammonia emissions. On a per-animal basis, sows produced more ammonia emissions than nursery or finisher pigs, but sows produced less ammonia per feed consumed than nursery or finisher pigs. Finisher pigs consume more feed than sows or nursery animals thus total emissions were greater on finishing farms than sow and nursery farms. Ammonia emissions from finishing pig farms in the semi-arid Central Basin were similar to finishing pig farms in the humid eastern U.S. but emissions from sow farms in the Central Basin were lower than for similar farms in the humid eastern U.S. Knowledge of ammonia emissions will assist environmental protection agencies, the animal industries, and designers to identify problem areas to develop best-management practices for reducing emissions. Reduction of air-quality gas emissions by animal feeding operations will minimize environmental impact while continuing to provide a safe food supply.

Technical Abstract: The use of nitrogen (N) is expected to grow extensively in cropping and animal production and the prospects for N emissions reduction are therefore a concern. In animal production systems (poultry, beef, and swine), current production, storage, and disposal techniques present a challenge to manage wastes to minimize the emissions each of ammonia (NH3) and other trace gases without impacting the combined emissions of all trace-gases. Physical and chemical factors were measured on primary and secondary lagoons on three type production farms, three replicates each, in the Central Great Basin of the U.S. to determine NH3 emissions. Nutrient concentration, lagoon water temperature, and micrometeorological data were used with published process and statistical models to calculate emissions. Total NH3 emissions increased in the order of smallest to largest ' nursery, sow, and finisher farms. Emissions on an animal basis increased from nursery animals lowest to sow animals highest and on a weight basis, emissions ranged from sows lowest to finishers highest. Ammonia emissions were compared to similar farm production systems in the Humid East of the U.S. and found to be similar for finisher animals but had much lower emissions than comparable Humid East sow production. Published estimates of NH3 emissions from lagoons ranged from 36 to 70% of feed input (no error range) compared to our emissions determined from a process model of 9.8% with an estimated range of ±4%.