Influence of Aeration Rates on Ammonia Emissions Under Different Liquid Temperatures

Jun Zhu, Assistant Professor, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca, MN
Keum J. Park, Sabbatical Professor, Sunchon State University, South Korea
Zhijian Zhang, Post-Doctoral Associate, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca, MN

Funding Source

Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station

Objective

The objective of the project is to determine optimal aeration conditions with respect to manure properties, aeration rates, and temperatures so ammonia volatilization, biodegradation performance, and energy consumption for aeration can be optimized during treatment of swine manure.

Need or Impact

When using advanced techniques in treating animal manure, it is imperative to understand whether aeration treatment of liquid swine manure for odor control under different temperatures will increase ammonia emission.

Project Status

Completed. Higher ammonia volatilization occurred as the temperature and aeration rate increased during biodegradation. Also, ammonia emission increased with increase in pH. Daily ammonia emission increased during biodegradation for the medium (1.2 L/M) and high (1.9 L/M) aeration rates while maintaining relatively constant for the low aeration rate (0.5 L/M). The ratios of cumulative ammonia emission to the initial total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) were from 0.7 to 25.8 % with higher values corresponding to higher temperatures and aeration rates. The ratios of the cumulative ammonia emission to the removed TKN during the experiment were from 6.5 to 68.5%. As the manure temperature and aeration rates increased, the ratio of NH3 volatilization to nitrogen loss increased.