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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #337290
Research Project: Quantifying Air and Water Quality Benefits of Improved Poultry Manure Management Practices

Location: Poultry Production and Product Safety Research

Title: Fertilizer value of nitrogen captured using ammonia scrubbers attached to animal production facilities

Author
item Moore, Philip
item Martin, Jerry
item LI, HONG - University Of Delaware

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/8/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Over half of the nitrogen (N) excreted from broiler chickens is lost to the atmosphere before the manure is removed from the barns, resulting in air and water pollution and the loss of a valuable fertilizer resource. The objective of this study was to determine the fertilizer efficiency of N, which is mainly present as ammonium (NH4), captured from the exhaust air from poultry houses using acid scrubbers. This study was conducted using 24 small plots located on a Captina silt loam soil. There were six treatments in a randomized block design with four replications per treatment. The six treatments were: (1) unfertilized control, (2) potassium bisulfate (KHSO4) scrubber solution, (3) aluminum sulfate (Al2(SO4)3.14H2O) scrubber solution, (4) sulfuric acid (H2SO4) scrubber solution, (5) sodium bisulfate (NaHSO4) scrubber solution and (6) ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) fertilizer dissolved in water. The four scrubber solutions, which were obtained from scrubbers attached to exhaust fans on commercial poultry houses, and the ammonium nitrate solution were all applied at an application rate equivalent to 112 kg N ha-1. Forage yields were measured periodically throughout the growing season. A rainfall simulation study was conducted five months after the solutions were applied to determine potential effects on phosphorus (P) runoff. Forage yields followed the order KHSO4, NaHSO4 > NH4NO3, Al2(SO4)3.14H2O, H2SO4 > unfertilized control and were 7.61, 7.46, 6.87, 6.72, 6.45, and 5.12 Mg ha-1, respectively. Nitrogen uptake followed similar trends as yields, although there were no significant differences among N sources. Phosphorus runoff was not affected by any of the treatments. These data indicate that forage yields with scrubber solutions can be equal to or even greater than that obtained with equivalent amounts of N applied as commercial fertilizer, which is likely due to the presence of other nutrients, such as K in acid salts like KHSO4.