Lab-Scale Assessment of Gaseous Emissions from Laying-Hen Manure Storage as Affected by Physical and Environmental Factors

Thumbnail Image
Date
2010-01-01
Authors
Li, Hong
Xin, Hongwei
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Person
Xin, Hongwei
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.

History
In 1905 Agricultural Engineering was recognized as a subdivision of the Department of Agronomy, and in 1907 it was recognized as a unique department. It was renamed the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 1990. The department merged with the Department of Industrial Education and Technology in 2004.

Dates of Existence
1905–present

Historical Names

  • Department of Agricultural Engineering (1907–1990)

Related Units

Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Abstract

Manure-belt (MB) and high-rise (HR) laying-hen houses are the two predominant housing types in the U.S. Compared with HR houses, MB houses have better indoor air quality and lower aerial emissions as a result of frequent (every 1 to 4 d) manure removal from the hen houses into separate manure storage. However, emissions from on-farm manure storage are integral parts of the whole-farm emissions and need to be quantified. This series of lab-scale studies assesses emission rates (ER) of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (CH4, CO2, and N2O) from stored laying-hen manure as affected by the following physical and environmental factors: air exchange rate (10 or 20 air changes per hour, or ACH), manure stacking configuration expressed as surface area to stack volume ratio (SVR at 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 m-1), air temperature (constant at 25°C or diurnal cyclic from 21°C to 32°C), manure moisture content (MC, 50% or 77%), and periodic addition of new manure to the existing stack. Results of the studies showed the following: (1) air exchange rate of 10 or 20 ACH had no apparent effects on the gaseous emissions; (2) SVR significantly affected emissions, with larger SVR leading to higher NH3 and CO2 ERs but lower CH4 ER on per kg manure basis; (3) emissions were positively related to air temperature; and (4) laying-hen manure with 77% MC had higher emissions than that with 50% MC. At the storage condition of 25°C air temperature, 20 ACH, every 2 d addition of 120 kg (5 cm thick layer) manure at 75% MC (equivalent to 2 d manure production of 682 laying hens) to the flat base area of 2.8 m2, the daily gaseous ERs per hen were 0.06 to 0.22 g NH3, 1.6 to 4.8 g CO2, and 7.4 to 32 mg CH4 (0.18 to 0.8 g CO2e). N2O concentrations from the stored manure were below the detection limit (0.03 ppm) of the measurement instrument; hence, N2O emission was omitted from the presentation.

Comments

This article is from Transactions of the ASABE 53, no. 2 (2010): 593–604.

Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Source
Copyright
Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2010
Collections