ASABE Technical Library - Abstract
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Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide and Odor Emissions from a Beef Cattle Feedlot
Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org
Citation: Paper number 034109, 2003 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.15037) @2003Authors: Ryan Duysen, Galen Erickson, Dennis Schulte, Richard Stowell
Keywords: Feedlots, Odor, Ammonia, Emissions
Gaseous emissions from livestock facilities represent a concern due to the potential effects of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide,
and odors on environmental quality and human health. The lack of knowledge concerning beef cattle feedlot emissions has been a major
obstacle in the development of emission reduction strategies and accurate emission modeling. Emissions from a 2,000-head research
feedlot in eastern Nebraska were measured in this study using a wind tunnel. Flux rates of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and odor were
determined to compare the effects of diet and pen cleaning frequency for a beef cattle feedlot. Meteorological parameters and soil/manure
pH, nitrogen content, surface and subsurface temperature and moisture content were also measured to determine the extent to which they
influenced emission rates.
Our data clearly show that surface temperature plays an important role in ammonia emissions, but other kinetic factors are also
responsible. It also shows that moisture content and temperature influence odor flux, but more research is needed to clarify this
relationship. The data suggest diet and cleaning frequency may play a role in ammonia and odor flux.