Effect of a New Manure Amendment on Ammonia Emissions from Poultry Litter

Abstract

Treating manure with aluminum sulfate (alum) is a best management practice (BMP) which reduces ammonia (NH3) emissions and phosphorus (P) runoff from poultry litter. However, the price of alum has increased markedly in recent years, creating a need for less expensive products to control NH3 volatilization. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a new litter amendment made from alum mud, bauxite, and sulfuric acid (alum mud litter amendment or AMLA) on NH3 emissions, litter chemistry, and poultry production in a pen trial. Three separate flocks of 1000 broilers were used for this study. The first flock of birds was used to produce the poultry litter needed for the experiment. The second and third flocks of birds were allocated to 20 pens in a randomized block design with four replicates of five treatments: (1) control, (2) 49 kg AMLA/100 m2 incorporated, (3) 98 kg AMLA/100 m2 incorporated, (4) 98 kg AMLA/100 m2 surface applied, and (5) 98 kg alum/100 m2 incorporated. Ammonia flux measurements and litter samples were collected from each pen at day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42. The average litter pH for both flocks was higher in untreated litter (7.92) compared to incorporating alum (7.32) or AMLA (7.18). The two flocks’ average NH4-N concentrations at day 42 were 38% and 30% higher for the high rates of incorporated alum and AMLA compared to the untreated litter. Compared with untreated litter, AMLA reduced overall NH3 emissions by 27% to 52% which was not significantly different from reductions in emissions by alum (35%). Alum mud litter amendment reduced cumulative NH3 losses from litter as much as, and in some cases more than, alum applied at the same rate. These data indicate that AMLA, which can be manufactured for lower price than alum, is an effective alternative litter amendment for reducing NH3 emissions from poultry litter.

The Influence of the Mineral–Microbial Deodorizing Preparation on Ammonia Emission and Growth Performance in Turkey Production

“…Chemical substances for decreasing ammonia concentration have been proposed, including phosphoric acid (H 3 [48][49][50][51], but they may lead to the excessive accumulation of potentially toxic substances in the environment. Recently, Anderson et al [52] developed new litter amendment made from alum mud, bauxite, and sulfuric acid which may be used as an effective alternative litter amendment for reducing NH 3 emissions from poultry litter. According to Santoso et al [53], the supplementation of dried Bacillus subtilis cultures in poultry diet significantly decreased NH 3 emission in poultry houses.…”

Evaluation of a Novel Poultry Litter Amendment on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

“…Such aerobic conditions are ideal for the formation of N 2 O, however, under high litter moisture, denitrification is expected to form N 2 with little to no N 2 O being produced [5]. There were no treatment effects on the moisture content of litter for either flock [20]. If the moisture content of the litter would have varied by treatment, then perhaps differences in N 2 O emissions would have been observed.…”

“…Nitrous oxide, CH 4 , and CO 2 flux measurements and litter samples were collected from each pen at days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42, during the second and third flocks. A plastic flux chamber attached to an Innova 1512 Photo-acoustic Multi-gas Analyzer (Innova Air Tech Instruments, Ballerup, Denmark) was used to measure NH 3 and GHG gas emissions from the litter at three random locations within each of the pens; NH 3 emissions were reported by Anderson et al [20]. The static flux chamber was a cylindrical plastic container, 35 cm high with a 14.5 cm radius; with a small battery powered fan mounted inside the container to stir the air within the flux chamber.…”

“…Only moisture content and NO 3 -N litter data will be reported in this paper. For all other litter parameter data, see Anderson et al [20]. Moisture content was determined by oven drying a subsample of litter at 65 • C for 1 week.…”

“…Laboratory studies conducted on this new amendment showed that it was comparable to alum in reducing NH 3 emissions [17,19]. A pen trial conducted by Anderson et al [20] on the effects of AMLA on NH 3 emissions from poultry litter showed AMLA reduced cumulative NH 3 from litter as much as, and in some cases more than alum applied at the same rate. Since this amendment is manufactured mainly using alum mud (a waste product that is normally landfilled at $32 USD ton −1 ), it should be much more cost-effective than alum.…”