Emission of harmful gases from animal production in Poland

Abstract

The aim of the study was to present the scale of greenhouse gas emissions from animal production, and to provide test results from different housing systems. In three free stall buildings, two with slurry in deep channels and one with cattle in cubicles staying on shallow litter concentration of ammonia and carbon dioxide were measured in summer season by using dedicated equipment from Industrial Scientific Research. Air exchange was calculated on the base of balance carbon dioxide method. This method was used in order to estimate the air flow rate. Concentrations of ammonia and CO2 were measured as the base for air exchange and ammonia emission rates. Ammonia emissions were product of ammonia concentration and air exchange rate. Temperature and relative humidity were measured to establish microclimate conditions in buildings tested to show the overall microclimatic situation in buildings. Differences between ammonia emission rates were observed in both housing systems. The highest ammonia emission rate was equal to 2.75 g·h−1·LU−1 in well-ventilated cattle barn with the largest herd size.

Environmental and Animal-Related Parameters and the Emissions of Ammonia and Methane from an Open-Sided Free-Stall Barn in Hot Mediterranean Climate: A Preliminary Study

“…Moreover, Figure 3 showed that NH 3in -NH 3out increased during the cleaning of the barn in the early morning, whereas CO 2in -CO 2out concentrations varied less. Therefore, the ratio between pollutant and tracer gas contributed to enhance NH 3 emissions during floor cleaning; this is in line with other studies [29]. Besides the presence of water on the floor, the lowest NH 3 emissions, obtained during cow activity, were attributed to the dilution and flushing effects of the high air velocities during the central hours of the day (Table 2).…”

“…The cow activity condition includes gaseous emissions produced when cows are standing, feeding and walking for a mean value of CAI > 0.50 for each hour. As, during the cleaning of the floor, gas concentrations and emissions were found the highest [28,29], an additional group, named barn cleaning, was considered. Barn cleaning refers to the dataset of gas emissions with a mean value of CAI > 0.50 for each hour that is related to the cleaning of the floor (i.e., when cows are either feedingor standing or walking).…”

Ammonia and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Dairy Cows on Straw-Based Litter Systems

“…In general, the level of ammonia emissions measured in this study is comparable to the level reported in the Webb synthesis (30 ± 20 g NH 3 -N d -1 animal place -1 [6], but lower than those recently reported in naturally ventilated buildings (40-60 g NH 3 -N d -1 LU -1 , LU: Livestock Unit [4]; 60-100 g NH 3 -N d -1 LU -1 [7]). In addition to the different measurement methods for gas concentrations and ventilation rates, bedding management practices (e.g., straw added every 2 days, accumulation under the animals for 3 months in Witkowska et al [7]) may explain these contrasting results.…”

“…For each manure heap, air composition was measured at the entrance and exit of the tunnel when covered. The gases analyzed were the same as those in the first experimental phase (NH 3 , CO 2 , CH 4 The gas concentration gradient was calculated as the concentration at the exit of the tunnel minus the concentration at the entrance. Each tunnel was equipped with an air exhaust fan (FANCOM AT, M, 35-56, Panningen, The Netherlands) to maintain a constant flow in the tunnel.…”

“…These processes depend on animal behavior and use of space, temperature, moisture content, the carbon (C):N ratio, pH, oxygen level, and the physical structure of the organic substrate. In the literature, conflicting results are reported, as solid manure is described to emit less NH 3 -N than liquid manure at the barn level [3][4][5] or more [6,7]. However, all of these studies were conducted in contrasting environmental conditions, herd sizes, diets, methodological approaches, and manure management practices.…”