Composting Hog Manure/Sawdust Mixtures Using Intermittent and Continuous Aeration: Ammonia Emissions

Odorous emissions from manures have become a significant problem. Preliminary work on composting hog manure with sawdust had indicated that intermittent aeration could reduce ammonia emissions during this process. This paper presents results from four additional runs with a total of 22 pilot-scale vessels that have confirmed that ammonia emissions are affected by aeration. The pilot-scale vessels consisted of insulated, stainless steel, 205 L drums that either received continuous (high/low rate, thermostatically controlled blowers) or intermittent (5 min on high rate, 55 min off) aeration. Ammonia emissions, air flow rates, carbon dioxide production, oxygen utilization, and temperatures at four locations in each vessel were monitored. Ammonia emissions under intermittent aeration were roughly 50% less than those from the continuously aerated vessels. However, this appeared to result more from total air flow than from the aeration technique used. A linear regression of emissions versus total air flow data for all vessels yielded a fit of y = 0.1309x + 29.385 (y being total ammonia emitted [in g of N] and x being total air flow [in kg]) with an R² = 0.6808. Since air flow termination was relatively arbitrary, this only means basically, that ammonia emissions were doubled for a quadrupling of air flow. Under intermittent aeration, the minimum oxygen level in the exhaust air occasionally dropped to as low as 1%. So the aeration pattern used probably represents the lowest one suitable for maintaining aerobic conditions. Within this constraint, however, lower air flow appears to be suitable for reducing odorous ammonia emissions.