Real time modelling
Monitoring and management of ammonia emission from livestock buildings
Background
Emission from livestock buildings is responsible for 34% of the total ammonia evaporation in Denmark and high ammonia concentration is suspected to contribute to increased incidence of bronchial diseases among people engaged in indoor pig production. It is known that ammonia emission from a livestock building depends on a number of different factors such as room temperature, air speed above manure surfaces, manure temperature, floor construction, distribution of manure on floor su rfaces, manure removal frequency, feed composition and use of feed and manure additives.
However, in practical husbandry the producer has no knowledge on the emission level from the actual production unit or on how the mentioned factors interact in a specific production unit and consequently, it is not possible to optimise the management in order to find the most beneficial way to obtain a certain reduction of ammonia emission. This constraint is obviously a significant obstacle for reduction of ammonia emission from livestock production.
The main objective is to develop a real time decision support model and monitoring system for ammonia emission from animal buildings that sustain efficient ways of ammonia conservation by optimised management of the production system.
Method
The scientific work focuses on model development and knowledge synthesis
on animal nutrition and animal housing effects on ammonia emission. The
project is organized in the following phases:
1. Effect of nutrition on ammonia emission.
2. Effect of animal housing on ammonia emission.
3. Development of an ammonia emission model.
4. Development and validation of an online monitoring system.
5. Validation of a monitoring system and model in commercial production
units.
The monitoring system including the model will be installed in selected
production units. The system and the collected data will be validated
regarding detection accuracy, calibration and management.
The decision support model combined with the monitoring system will
support a development aimed to introduce more efficient ways to control
ammonia emission, resource utilization and optimisation of the
production system. E. g. it will be possible for the producers to obtain
knowledge on how changes in management or production system will
influences the emission level from the production system.
Participants
Bjarne Bjerg, André Chwalibog, Anne-Helene Tauson and Jørgen Pedersen,
RVAU
Svend Morsing, Hans Benny Rom and Lis Jacobsen, DIAS, Bygholm
December 2004