Date of Award:

5-2009

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Randal S. Martin

Committee

Randal S. Martin

Committee

David K. Stevens

Committee

Rhonda L. Miller

Abstract

Air emissions from animal feeding operations have become a growing concern. Much work has been done to study occupational exposures and the exhaust concentrations associated with animal facilities; however little information has been provided about air quality around the houses. Ammonia (NH3 ), ethanol (EtOH), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM10) emissions were monitored in two different buildings for laying hens in northern Utah. Over the six-month sampling period, the observed average temperatures for the west and east fan banks of the high-rise building were 21.2±4 and 19.4±1.3°C, respectively, and the average inside relative humidities during the same period were 43.7±7.2 and 48.4±7.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the observed average temperatures for the west and east fan banks of the manure-belt building were 20.6±4.4 and 17.9±2.7°C, respectively, and the average percent inside relative humidities during the same period were 44.4 ±7.6 and 49.3±7.4%, respectively. The ventilation rates ranged from 0.80 m3 h-1 bird-1 to 4.80 m3 h-1 bird -1 with an average of 2.02 m3 h -1 bird -1 for the high-rise barn and from 0.80 m3 h-1 bird -1 to 6.0 m3 h-1 bird-1 with an average of 2.20 m3 h-1 bird-1 for the manure-belt building over the sampling period of September, October, November, and December 2008 and January 2009. Average NH3 emission factors were 72±17 g d-1 AU-1 for the high-rise system and 9.1±7 g d-1 AU-1 for the manure-belt (1 AU is equal to 500 kg of animal live weight). The NH3 emission reduction factor for the manure-belt technique compared to the high-rise technique was 87%. Ammonia levels outside the house appeared to be less than 1 ppm. No significant emissions were registered for N2O, H2S, and EtOH, which were consistently close to zero for both techniques. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emission factor from the high-rise building was 104±11 g day-1 AU-1 and from the manure-belt building, 105±20 g day-1 AU-1. PM emissions were greater from the manure-belt system in comparison with the high-rise system, showing mean values of 165 vs. 114 g day-1 AU-1 for PM 2.5, 1,987 vs. 1,863 g day-1 AU-1for PM10 and 4,460 vs. 3,462 g day-1 AU-1 for TSP respectively. None of the 24-h PM 2.5 measurements collected from both management techniques exceeded the U.S. EPA 24-hr National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 35 μg/m 3.

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This work was revised and made publicly available electronically on July 28, 2011

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