육성돈사의 하루 중 암모니아와 황화수소의 발생특성 평가

Evaluation of the Diurnal Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide Emission Characteristics of Growing Pig Barn

송용우1, 이태구2, 이양준4, 김대훈4, 신진호1, 이주미2, 김동여1, Wardhani Riuh1, 이승훈4, 안희권3*

1충남대학교 낙농학과, 2충남대학교 축산환경학과, 3충남대학교 동물자원과학부, 4충남대학교 농업과학연구소

1. Introduction

As complaints related to livestock odors continue to increase, livestock odor has become a major source of conflict within local communities. Due to the growing public concern over odor issues, regulations on livestock odor are becoming increasingly stringent, making it difficult to sustain livestock production without effectively addressing the problem.
To solve livestock odor issues, it is essential to understand odor-generation characteristics at the farm level and establish appropriate odor-management strategies. Odor emissions from livestock farms are influenced by various factors, including farm managers’ working hours, manure-handling practices, animal activity, and meteorological conditions.
Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the diurnal emission characteristics of ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) in a growing-pig barn according to temperature fluctuations and pig activity.

2. Materials and Methods

This study was conducted in a pilot-scale, mechanically ventilated, windowless pig barn equipped with instruments capable of real-time monitoring of NH₃ and H₂S concentrations, ventilation rate, and temperatures of both the pen area and the slurry pit.
The barn consisted of two identical rooms, each containing three pens (3.8 m² per pen) and an anteroom. Four growing pigs (27.28 ± 0.7 kg BW) were housed in each pen.
Fresh air entered through the ceiling inlets of each pen after passing through the anteroom, and exhaust air exited via side-wall ventilation fans. Water and feed were provided ad libitum. The pen temperature was maintained at 22.9 ± 2.2 ℃, and the ventilation rate was maintained at 2.2 ± 0.4 m³/min.

For 15 days, real-time monitoring was conducted using the following sensors: ammonia concentration (LGD Compact-A NH₃, Axetris AG, 6056 Kaegiswil, Switzerland), hydrogen sulfide concentration (H₂S/C-50, Membrapor AG, Switzerland), temperature (T-type, T-12-TE, DHTC, Korea), and ventilation rate (HFM 200 LFE, Teledyne Hastings, USA). Odor emission rates were calculated using Equation (1).

3. Results and Discussion

During the 15-day monitoring period, NH₃ concentration and emission rate within the growing-pig barn were highest between 09:00 and 15:00, with averages of 39.7 ± 22.5 ppm and 2.3 ± 1.3 g/6 hr/head, respectively. The lowest values occurred between 21:00 and 03:00, averaging 6.4 ± 4.9 ppm and 1.1 ± 0.8 g/6 hr/head.
For H₂S, the highest concentrations and emissions were observed from 15:00 to 21:00, averaging 40.3 ± 26.9 ppb and 13.6 ± 8.7 μg/6 hr/head, while the lowest values occurred from 21:00 to 03:00, averaging 15.9 ± 12.0 ppb and 5.6 ± 4.1 μg/6 hr/head.
These results indicate that both NH₃ and H₂S concentrations and emissions increase during the daytime when ambient temperature rises, and decrease at night when the temperature drops.

4. Conclusion

When comparing NH₃ and H₂S concentrations and emissions at 6-hour intervals in the growing-pig barn, NH₃ emissions were highest around midday, while H₂S emissions were elevated between 09:00 and 21:00. Both gases increased after sunrise as temperature rose and gradually decreased after sunset as temperature dropped.
Therefore, particular attention is needed for NH₃ management during the period from 09:00 to 15:00, when NH₃ concentrations are highest.

5. References

(1) This research was funded by Cargill Agri Purina, Inc. (Korea), project number (2023-1491-01).