Methods of assessing emissions of contaminants from sties into the air

Abstract

Provision of competitiveness in the sphere of animal farming in Ukraine requires the introduction of innovative systems of technological support involving modern microprocessor control-measurement systems and devices. The method of continuous automatic record of emissions of contaminants from animal premises reveals patterns in emissions of the main air contaminants and allows their mass concentrations and dynamics of emissions to be tracked over 24 h period. By employing this method, we determined the coefficients of 24 h emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from premises for fattening young swine. The coefficients of 24 h emission of ammonia were found to be significantly lower in the sty with a slatted floor in pens for the winter, spring, and autumn periods compared with the sties with concrete floor. However, coefficients of 24 h emission of methane were significantly higher by 76.1–286.9% in the sty with a slatted floor, which is associated with the peculiarities of technology of the self-cleaning system. Two-times removal of manure from the sty with concrete floor significantly reduced the average annual coefficients of emission of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane, by 12.1%, 22.4%, and 13.5%, respectively. Analysis of emission of the main contaminants from the sties with slatted and concrete floor in pens indicated a significant effect of this factor on the amount of emission, structure, and presence of seasonal and daily variability in those parameters. Accumulation of experimental materials regarding emission of contaminants will allow average actual parameters of emissions from small pig farms to be identified, which will allow adequate assessment of the effect their activity has on the environment, particularly in residential areas, and substantiate the minimal allowable distances to sanitary-protective zones.