REDUCTION OF AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM TREATED ANAEROBIC SWINE LAGOONS

There is a need for treatment technologies that can effectively address environmental concerns associated with manure in confined animal production, including accurate assessment of their environmental benefit. These technologies must be able to capture nutrients, kill pathogens, and reduce emissions of ammonia (NH3) and nuisance odors from manure. To meet these needs, a wastewater treatment plant was demonstrated at full-scale in one of two 4,360-pig production units on a finishing farm in Duplin County, North Carolina. The treatment system installed in the first production unit combined new treatment technologies consisting of solid-liquid separation with removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from the liquid phase. The second production unit was used as a control to evaluate emission improvements using traditional anaerobic lagoon technology. Both production units had similar production management and lagoons with similar surface area (about 0.9 ha each) and wastewater design. As the treatment system recovered the manure solids and replaced the anaerobic lagoon liquid with cleaner water, it converted the anaerobic lagoon into a treated water pond. Our objective was to study changes in NH3 emissions as a result of improved water quality. The study was done one year after lagoon conversion into aerated pond as a result of manure treatment and included cold and warm weather conditions. Passive flux samplers were used to measure NH3 gas fluxes from both lagoon systems. Average total ammoniacal N (TAN) concentrations in lagoon liquid were 31 and 388 mg/L for the treated and traditional systems, respectively. We found that free NH3 (FA) concentration, which integrates TAN, temperature, and pH into a single factor, explained 90% of the variation in NH3 emissions from these lagoon systems. Lower N concentrations in the converted lagoon substantially reduced annual NH3 emissions by 90% with respect to those found in the traditional anaerobic lagoon. Ammonia emissions from the converted lagoon totaled 1,210 kg N/lagoon/year (or 1,311 kg N/ha/year). This annual rate compares with NH3 emissions of 12,540 kg N/lagoon/year (13,633 kg N/ha/year) from the traditional lagoon. Overall, these results demonstrate that production of clean water using new wastewater technologies can accelerate lagoon cleanup and substantially reduce ammonia emissions from confined animal production.

[1]  Viney P. Aneja,et al.  Characterization of atmospheric ammonia emissions from swine waste storage and treatment lagoons , 2000 .

[2]  David A. Dickey,et al.  Atmospheric transport and wet deposition of ammonium in North Carolina , 2000 .

[3]  Viney P. Aneja,et al.  Evaluation and improvement of ammonia emissions inventories , 2003 .

[4]  Philip W. Westerman,et al.  MODELING AMMONIA EMISSION FROM SWINE ANAEROBIC LAGOONS , 2002 .

[5]  Robin L. Dennis,et al.  Seasonal NH3 emission estimates for the eastern United States , 2003 .

[6]  J. R. Miner,et al.  EVALUATION OF A PERMEABLE, 5 CM THICK, POLYETHYLENE FOAM LAGOON COVER , 2003 .

[7]  Sven G. Sommer,et al.  Ammonia volatilization from farm tanks containing anaerobically digested animal slurry , 1997 .

[8]  小坂 慎一,et al.  Wastewater treatment system and wastewater treatment method , 2007 .

[9]  A. De Visscher,et al.  Nitrogen cycling through swine production systems: ammonia, dinitrogen, and nitrous oxide emissions. , 2004, Journal of environmental quality.

[10]  Sven G Sommer,et al.  Ammonia, methane, and nitrous oxide emission from pig slurry applied to a pasture in New Zealand. , 2002, Journal of environmental quality.

[11]  Elizabeth A. Guertal,et al.  Nitrogen budget for fescue pastures fertilized with broiler litter in Major Land Resource Areas of the southeastern US , 2001, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[12]  G. J. Monteny,et al.  Consequences of new scientific findings for future abatement of ammonia emissions , 1998 .

[13]  Awwa,et al.  Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater , 1999 .

[14]  Timothy B. Parkin,et al.  Gaseous Nitrogen Emissions from Anaerobic Swine Lagoons: Ammonia, Nitrous Oxide, and Dinitrogen Gas , 2000 .

[15]  Jørgen E. Olesen,et al.  A passive flux sampler for measuring ammonia volatilization from manure storage facilities , 1996 .

[16]  Yuanhui Zhang,et al.  SYNTHETIC COVERS FOR EMISSIONS CONTROL FROM EARTHEN EMBANKED SWINE LAGOONS PART II: NEGATIVE PRESSURE LAGOON COVER , 2004 .

[17]  R. Loehr,et al.  Inhibition of nitrification by ammonia and nitrous acid. , 1976, Journal - Water Pollution Control Federation.

[18]  Albert J. Heber,et al.  A REVIEW OF AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM CONFINED SWINE FEEDING OPERATIONS , 2003 .

[19]  David L. Nofziger,et al.  Modeling Ammonia Volatilization from Surface-Applied Swine Effluent , 2003 .

[20]  Viney P. Aneja,et al.  Trends in Ammonium Concentration in Precipitation and Atmospheric Ammonia Emissions at a Coastal Plain Site in North Carolina, U.S.A. , 2000 .

[21]  Jan Willem Erisman,et al.  Optimizing air quality management in Europe and North America: justification for integrated management of both oxidized and reduced forms of nitrogen , 1998 .

[22]  P. Hobbs,et al.  Additives to reduce ammonia and odor emissions from livestock wastes: a review. , 2001, Journal of environmental quality.

[23]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater seventh edition , 2013 .

[24]  Sven G. Sommer,et al.  A simple passive sampler for measuring ammonia emission in the field , 1992 .

[25]  V. R. Phillips,et al.  A review of methods for measuring emission rates of ammonia from livestock buildings and slurry or manure stores, Part 2 : monitoring flux rates, concentrations and airflow rates , 2000 .

[26]  Patricia Millner,et al.  Evaluation of Environmentally Superior Technology: Swine Waste Treatment System for Elimination of Lagoons, Reduced Environmental Impact, and Improved Water Quality. (Solids separation / nitrification-denitrification / soluble phosphorus removal / solids processing system) FINAL REPORT For the NC At , 2004 .

[27]  Philip W. Westerman,et al.  Aeration of livestock manure slurry and lagoon liquid for odor control: a review , 1997 .

[28]  Lena Rodhe,et al.  SE—Structures and Environment: Ammonia Emissions from Broiler Manure — Influence of Storage and Spreading Method , 2002 .

[29]  Viney P. Aneja,et al.  Measurement and analysis of atmospheric ammonia emissions from anaerobic lagoons , 2001 .

[30]  Albert J. Heber,et al.  ODOR FLUX MEASUREMENTS AT A FACULTATIVE SWINE LAGOON STRATIFIED BY SURFACE AERATION , 2002 .

[31]  J. Hatfield,et al.  Abatement of Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions from a Swine Lagoon Using a Polymer Biocover , 2001, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.