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The objective of the study described in this paper was to develop a method to examine the key odorants (KOs) that can be used to study the effects of the thermal environment, the management and the animal categories on odor emission in swine buildings. The study has included winter and summer surveys at four different swine herds equipped with gestation, farrowing, rearing and finishing buildings. The winter survey was carried out during the winter of 2003/04, and the summer survey was carried out in the summer of 2004.

Odorous compounds (odorants) in the buildings were sampled by use of the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The study included the following five key odorants: trimethyl amine, 1-butanol, 3- methyl butanoic acid (iso-valeric acid), 4-methyl phenol (P-cresol) and 3-methyl 1H-indole (skatole). The air temperature, relative humidity, body weight of the animals, ventilation rate and cleanliness of the buildings were also determined. The CO2 balance method was used to estimate the ventilation rate. The cleanliness of the building was evaluated using 5-step grading of the floor wetness and the equipment and wall dustiness.

The study showed that the nature of the emissions of key odorants could be explored by means of principal component analysis. About 80% of the variations from the observations could be explained by the regression models that were developed in this study to predict emissions of the key odorants from swine buildings. For further improvement of the models, the knowledge of the process governing the development of odorous compounds in manure and the effects of animal behavior on odor emissions should be incorporated in the models. The method developed by the study showed ability to examine KOs and encourage further studies including other odorants found in swine buildings.