Ammonia emissions from different pig production scales and their temporal variations in the North China Plain

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Cao, Y., Bai, Z., Misselbrook, T. H., Wang, X. and Ma, L. 2021. Ammonia emissions from different pig production scales and their temporal variations in the North China Plain. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 71 (1), pp. 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2020.1815895

AuthorsCao, Y., Bai, Z., Misselbrook, T. H., Wang, X. and Ma, L.
Abstract

Pig production systems in China are shifting from small to industrial scale. Significant variation in housing ammonia (NH3) emissions can exist due to differences in diet, housing design, and management practices. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the impacts of farm-scale in China, which may be critical in identifying hotspots and mitigation targets. Here, continuous in-situ NH3 concentration measurements were made at pig farms of different scales for sows and fattening pigs over periods of 3–6 days during two different seasons (summer vs. winter). For the sow farms, NH3 emission rates were greater at the small farm (summer: 0.52 g pig−1 hr−1; winter: 0.21 g pig−1 hr−1) than at the large farm (summer: 0.34 g pig−1 hr−1; winter: 0.12 g pig−1 hr−1). For the fattening pig farms, NH3 emission rates were greater at the large farm (summer: 0.22 g pig−1 hr−1; winter: 0.16 g pig−1 hr−1) than at the small farm (summer: 0.19 g pig−1 hr−1; winter: 0.07 g pig−1 hr−1). Regardless of farm scale, the NH3 emission rates measured in summer were greater than those in winter; the NH3 emission rates were greater in the daytime than at the nighttime; a positive relationship (R2 = 0.06–0.68) was established between temperature and NH3 emission rate, whereas a negative relationship (R2 = 0.10–0.47) was found between relative humidity and NH3 emission rate. The effect of farm-scale on indoor NH3 concentration could mostly be explained by the differences in ventilation rates between farms. The diurnal variation in NH3 concentration could be partly explained by ventilation rate (R2 = 0.48–0.78) in the small traditional farms and by emission rate (R2 = 0.26–0.85) in the large industrial farms, except for the large fattening pig farm in summer. Overall, mitigation of NH3 emissions from sow farms should be a top priority in the North China Plain.

KeywordsAmmonia emissions; Sows; Fattening pigs; Farm scale; Temporal variations; North China Plain
Year of Publication2021
JournalJournal of the Air & Waste Management Association
Journal citation71 (1), pp. 23-33
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2020.1815895
Open accessPublished as non-open access
FunderBBSRC Newton funding
Funder project or codeUK - China Virtual Joint Centre for Improved Nitrogen Agronomy (CINAG)
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online07 Dec 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted25 Jun 2020
PublisherTaylor & Francis

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