@inproceedings{0a5fcb1eade24bf286bb1317669a46ae,
title = "Mitigating ammonia emission from broiler houses using a novel biodegradable litter amendment",
abstract = "The emission of ammonia from commercial broiler production has generated such concerns that air pollution controls may be required for the long term sustainability of the US broiler industry. In this study, a new biodegradable litter amendment (BLA) with pH < 4, made by steam explosion of corn cobs, was tested as a mitigation method for ammonia emissions from broiler litter. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of BLA in controlling ammonia emitted from broiler houses. A pilot scale test was conducted at the Virginia Tech Turkey Research Farm in Blacksburg, Virginia. Six adjacent rooms each measuring 3.8m long by 3.6m wide and tapering in height from 3.3m at the inner wall to 2.7m at the external wall, were selected from a building with 36 similar rooms. Each room was ventilated using a separate exhaust fan and used to grow broilers at a stocking density of 0.065 m2 per bird. Day old chicks were placed in each room at the beginning of a 42-d grow out period. The birds were fed a normal basal diet of corn and soybean meal. A 3-phase feeding program based on age was used and water was provided ad libitum. The birds were weighed four times over the growing period and their foot pads were scored during harvesting. The first flock was grown on fresh kiln dried pine shavings, after which the BLA treatment was randomly assigned to 3 rooms and the control the other 3 rooms. The litter was then reused to grow four additional flocks (flocks 2-5) with 5 to 10 days between flocks. The room ventilation rate was determined through continuous monitoring of fan activity (on/off) and static pressure difference across the fan. The exhaust air from the rooms was sampled for ammonia concentration for 2-d each week from weeks 1-6, starting at four days of age to determine the emission rate. Over three subsequent flocks the average ammonia emission rate from the rooms with untreated litter (control) was at least 30% greater than rooms treated litter.",
keywords = "Ammonia, Biodegradable, Broiler, Litter amendment",
author = "Senyondo, {S. N.} and {Arogo Ogejo}, J. and Gates, {R. S.} and Pierson, {F. W.} and Walters, {J. N.}",
year = "2012",
language = "English (US)",
isbn = "9781622762088",
series = "American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2012, ASABE 2012",
publisher = "American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers",
pages = "3170--3186",
booktitle = "American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2012, ASABE 2012",
note = "American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2012 ; Conference date: 29-07-2012 Through 01-08-2012",
}