Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The poultry industry has long grappled with air quality challenges stemming from gaseous ammonia emissions. Scrutiny has intensified due to ammonia's role as an air pollutant, contributing to the formation of harmful particulate matter known as PM2.5, and its suspected contribution to nitrogen pollution in surface water. Furthermore, ammonia is a toxic gas continuously produced within poultry enclosures and often exceeds safe levels, adversely affecting bird health, flock productivity, and farm profitability.Thisproject aims to advance an ammonia capture solution for concentrated animal feeding operations, namely the poultry industry, to reduce indoor ammonia concentrations to improve animal welfare, farm productivity and profitability, while simultaneously reducingenvironmental emissions to the atmosphere.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
40%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
The project aims to advance an ammonia capture solution for concentrated animal feeding operations, namely the poultry industry, to reduce indoor ammonia concentrations to improve animal performance and lower environmental emissions to the atmosphere.The project proposes four objectives: (1) determine the effect of particulate matter (PM) on solution systems, (2) incorporate new design constraints into the solution, (3) determine the solution's operational envelope, and (4) determine the effect of PM on performance in a relevant environment. Through these objectives, the solution will undergo iterative enhancements to accommodate new design constraints and undergo rigorous evaluation in simulated and real-world conditions to define the system's operation envelope.F.1. Technical Objective 1. Determine the effect of particulate matter (PM) on CAATCHER key flow variables (pressure drop, maintenance schedule, and sensor sensitivity) in a relevant poultry environment to inform the PM filtration solution, maintenance schedule, and commercial control system.F.2. Technical Objective 2. Conduct a system design evolution to incorporate everything learned from previous technical objectives. This includes environmental conditions (particularly PM), labor skills, abilities, tools, and schedules.F.3. Technical Objective 3. Define the operational envelope of CAATCHER using simulated poultry air by demonstrating its ability to maintain the desired ammonia concentration output at a poultry house's temperature, relative humidity, and ammonia concentration boundary conditions.F.4. Technical Objective 4. Determine sensitivity of out-flow AC to particulate matter (PM) in a relevant poultry environment to identify required human interventions, maintenance schedules, and component inspection/replacement strategies.
Project Methods
Because this is an R&D project, there are no specific methods being used to reach a target audience.