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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Poultry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407839
Research Project: Intervention Strategies to Mitigate Avian Escherichia coli Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance in the Poultry Environment

Location: Poultry Research

Title: Influence of pine and miscanthus biochar on the water activity and moisture sorption isotherms of used broiler litter

Author
item LINHOSS, JOHN - Auburn University
item MOHAMMADI-ARAGH, MARYAM - Mississippi State University
item Evans, Jeffrey - Jeff

Submitted to: Heliyon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2023
Publication Date: 11/20/2023
Citation: Linhoss, J., Mohammadi-Aragh, M., Evans, J.D. 2023. Influence of pine and miscanthus biochar on the water activity and moisture sorption isotherms of used broiler litter. Heliyon. 9:e22618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22618.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22618

Interpretive Summary: To maintain the health of commercial poultry and minimize production losses, methods are being investigated to reduce animal-pathogen encounters by reducing pathogen populations in animal environments. In the commercial broiler industry, pathogens are commonly found in the material on which the poultry were reared which is also known as poultry litter. In the current study, the impact of 2 additives (Pine Biochar & Miscanthus Biochar) to the poultry litter was investigated. These biochar additives are produced from heating substances in the total or partial absence of oxygen and have been shown to have beneficial effects on soil. In the current study, the addition of both biochar increased the availability of water within the liter and multiple models were tested to predict water availability in the study.

Technical Abstract: The effect of various inclusion rates of pine biochar (PBC), miscanthus biochar (MCB) and starting moisture contents on the water activity (Aw) of poultry litter/biochar mixtures was examined. Suitable models for the resulting moisture sorption isotherms were also evaluated. For poultry mixed with PBC and MBC, higher starting moisture contents led to increased Aw. Aw generally increased at high inclusion rates of PBC and MBC. PBC had a significantly higher (P = 0.05) overall Aw than MBC (0.87 vs 0.85, respectively). All the moisture isotherms were characterized as Type III and of the five models examined, the exponential rise to max was considered to be the most useful due to its accuracy at moisture contents similar to those commonly found in commercial poultry houses [11 – 43% dry basis (10 – 30% wet basis)]. Accuracy of models was determined using R2, mean squared prediction error (MSPE), and mean absolute percent error (MAPE). In general, higher inclusion rates of biochar resulted in less overall prediction accuracy.