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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #239959
Title: Modeling emissions of volatile organic compounds from silage

Author
item Hafner, Sasha
item Montes, Felipe
item Rotz, Clarence - Al

Submitted to: Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2009
Publication Date: 6/21/2009
Citation: Hafner, S.D., Montes, F., Rotz, C.A. 2009. Modeling emissions of volatile organic compounds from silage. Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE). Paper No. 095967.

Interpretive Summary: An interpretive summary is not required.

Technical Abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), necessary reactants for photochemical smog formation, are emitted from numerous sources. Limited available data suggest that dairy farms emit VOCs with cattle feed, primarily silage, being the primary source. Process-based models of VOC transfer within and from silage during storage and feeding are presented. These models are based upon well-established theory for mass transport processes in porous media with parameters determined from silage properties using relationships developed for soils. Preliminary results indicate that VOC emission by advective flow of silage gas is generally insignificant compared to emission by surface convection and diffusion from within silage. VOC emissions are dependent on silage properties, temperature, wind speed, and exposure duration, which have implications for measuring, predicting, and controlling VOC emissions from silage. Emissions appear to be co-limited by convection and diffusion; therefore, the EPA-style emission isolation flux chamber design previously used to measure VOC emissions from silage is not suitable for this task.