Progress 12/15/14 to 12/14/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers and extension personnel in academia, egg producers, allied companies, and other stakeholders interested in egg production, and animal welfare and health. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided valubale training opportunities to graduate students, undergraduates, visiting scholars and postdoctoral research associates. The areas and skills of training include system construction, programing, instrument calibration and challenge, environmental monitoring, operation of the state-of-the-art measurement and data acquisition systems, and data analysis techniques. It has also allowed for sponsoring students and postdoc research associates to attend and present the research findings at professional conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research results have been presented at professional conferences (i.e., ASABE Annual International Meetings, International Livestock Environment Symposium) and industry workshops. Our reserarch findings have received considerable attention and intersts from academia, egg producers and allied industry. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Concerns over animal welfare among general public and marketing decisions have led to pledges by a number of U.S. food retailers and restaurants to source only cage-free (CF) eggs by certain year (e.g., 2025 or 2030). According to the current number of pledges, it would take more than 70% of the current US layer inventory to meet the demands by 2025. Compared to conventional cage production systems, CF hen housing offers hens more space and opportunities to exercise their natural behaviors (e.g., perching, dust bathing, and foraging). However, CF housing faces environmental challenges, such as high levels of particulate matter (PM) and ammonia (NH3), especially during cold weather when the house has limited ventilation.Researchers on this projectdevised an innovative mitigation system that suppresses the generation of particulate matter (PM), airborne bacteria (AB) and ammonia (NH3), which improves the indoorenvironment and productivity of CF hen housing system,and hasan added benefit of cooling hens during warm/hot weather. The project addressed Program Area Priority A1521 "Engineering, Products, and Processes" by 1) engineering an innovative mitigation system for litter-based alternative hen houses; 2) improving indoor air quality, thus hen and worker welfare; 3) alleviating hen heat stress, thus enhancing their welfare and productivity; and 4) lowering environmental footprint. Ultimately it will aid US egg producers toward achieving welfare- and environment-friendly production systems, thereby enhancing their ability to compete in today's global egg market. Obj 1. Quantify the efficacy of liquid spray (electrolyzed water-EW or water) onto the litter (a mixture of hen manure and bedding materials) of CF housing on reduction of PM, AB and NH3 generation in lab-scale experiments. Lab-scale experiments were conducted to assess the effect of acidic EW (AEW) spray dosage and pH on PM and NH3 emissions from litter of CF hen houses. Four dynamic emission chambers (DEC's) located in an environmentally-controlled room were used for the evaluation. Three spray dosages, three pH values, and two free-chlorine concentrations were tested and compared. Results of lab-scale experiment showed that higher spray dosages of AEW led to lower PM emissions. Reduction efficiencies of the different spray dosages were 71-89% immediately after spraying. Besides, two free-chlorine concentrations (100 and 200 mg L-1, or FC100 and FC200) were tested for airborne bacteria (AB) and litter bacteria (LB) reductions at three pH levels (3, 5, and 7). The results showed that a lower pH AEW yielded greater AB and LB reduction efficiencies. FC200 resulted in 45.2% lower AB emissions from the hen litter as compared to FC100. However, spraying liquid on litter increased NH3 emissions because of elevated litter moisture content (LMC). To overcome this dilemma, this study evaluated the effect of applying a commercial poultry litter additive (LA, PLT®) on NH3 emissions of CF hen litter sprayed with neutral EW (NEW) at a rate of 25 mL (kg dry litter)-1 d-1 or 125 mL m-2 per cm litter depth. The PLT application rates were 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 kg m-2 (61, 122, and 182 lb. per 1000 ft2 at litter depth of 1.5-inch) which reduced NH3 emissions by 28%, 52%, and 79%, respectively, as compared to control with no PLT use. Obj 2. Design, install and field-test a spray system in a commercial CF hen house. A sprinkling system was designed and installed in a commercial CF hen house (50,000 hens) in Iowa. Half of the CF house was equipped with the spraying/sprinkling system (treatment) while the other half served as the control. Obj 3. Quantify the impact of the spray system on reducing PM, AB and NH3 generation in the commercial aviary house; evaluate effects of the spray system on hen behavior and welfare; and evaluate the efficacy of the spray system on heat stress relief of hens in summertime. Three trials of PM reduction were tested in the commercial CF henhouse with water spray during winter of 2017-2018. The spray dosage (125 mL H2O m-2 per cm litter depth) was set according to the initial litter depth before spray. Results show that PM concentration was reduced by 37-51% in the treatment section of the CF henhouse. Adjusting spray dosage according to litter depth is necessary for maintaining the appreciable reduction efficiency. Litter moisture content of the treatment section was slightly higher than that of the control, but NH3 concentrations in the treatment and control sections were similar during the test. For the summer cooling with sprinkling system, the thermal environment and body surface temperature of laying hens was monitored to quantify the effectiveness of the system on heat stress reduction during hot weather. Sprinkled hens had up to 7 oC (12 oF) lower body surface temperature than non-sprinkled one immediately after a 20-sec water spray at 30 mL m-2 spray rate. The cooling effect for birds on the litter lasted for about 10 min, and most wetted birds dried out soon under the testing conditions of 35oC (95 oF) house temperature, 32% relative humidity, 0.31-0.33 m s-1 (62 - 65 ft min-1) air velocity.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chai, L., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, T. Wang, M. Soupir. (2018). Mitigating airborne bacteria emissions from litter of cage-free hen houses by spraying acidic electrolyzed water. Biosystems Engineering 170, 61-71.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, T. Wang, M. Soupir, K. Liu. (2018). Mitigating ammonia and PM generations of cage-free henhouse litter with solid additive and liquid spray. Transactions of the ASABE 61(1): 287-294.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin, Y. Wang, J. Oliveira, K. Wang, Y. Zhao. Mitigating particulate matter emissions of a commercial cage-free aviary hen house. Trans. ASABE
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin, Y. Wang, J. Oliveira, K. Wang (2018). Dust suppression and heat stress relief in cage-free hen housing. In 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X), September 25-27, 2018, Omaha, NE, USA: ASABE Paper No. ILES18-013. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin*, Y. Wang, J. Oliveira, K. Wang, Y. Zhao (2018). Mitigating particulate matter emissions of a commercial cage-free aviary hen house. 2018 ASABE Annual International Meeting, July 29-Augst 1st, Detroit, MI, USA: ASABE Paper No. 201800223. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin*, Y. Zhao, T. Wang, M. Soupir (2018). Air Emissions Mitigation from Aviary Cage-free Hen Litter. Animal Industry Report, 664(1), 48.
|
Progress 12/15/16 to 12/14/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers and extension personnel in academia, egg producers, allied companies, and other stakeholders interested in egg production and animal welfare and health. Changes/Problems:The 2015 HPAI disruption caused delay in the progress of the field verification test (restrictions in farm access). Once the access was resumed, it took additional time to install and adjust the spray system to perform the way it is supposed to perform. Note that installation of the spray mitigation system could only be performed while the laying-hen house was empty. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has been providing training opportunities to graduate students, undergraduates, visiting scholars and postdoctoral research associates. Training provided included system construction, programing, instrument calibration and challenge, environmental monitoring, operation of the state-of-the-art measurement and data acquisition systems, and data analysis techniques. It has also allowed for sponsoring students and postdoc research associate to attend professional conferences such as the 2017 Egg Industry Center Annual Forum in Columbus, OH in April 2017, the 2017 ASABE international meeting in Spoken, Washington in July 2017, the 2017 International Symposium of Animal Environment and Welfare in Chongqing, China in October 2017, and the 2017 Iowa Egg Industry Symposium in November 2017. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research results have been presented at the 2017 Egg Industry Center Annual Forum, 2017 ASABE Annual International Meeting, and 2017 Iowa Egg Industry Symposium. Our findings based on lab-scale experiment and preliminary findings in commercial CF house have received considerable attention from academia and industry following the professional conferences. For instance, our group research poster was selected to receive the Best Presentation Award in 2017 Iowa Egg Industry Symposium. In addition, we received many requests by peers for our conference paper, research poster/abstract, and research updates. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The sprinkling system has been designed and installed in a commercial CF hen house. The field verification test for the lab study is ongoing. Emissions of PM, NH3, and airborne bacteria, litter bacteria concentrations, and laying hens' behavior after liquid spray and PLT use will be monitored. The effect of liquid spray and litter additive use on emissions mitigation will be analyzed. The heat stress reduction with the sprinkling system will be repeated in next summer/hot weather. Results of the verification test will be promptly disseminated as they become available through presentations at professional and industry outreach conferences; prepare manuscript for peer-reviewed journal publication.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A number of U.S. grocers and restaurant chains, food distributors, and hospitality firms have pledged to source only cage-free eggs by 2025 due to increasing public concerns or perception on animal welfare. As a result, cage-free (CF) egg production is increasing in USA and around the world. Previous studies show that aviary hen houses such as CF have many environmental challenges. Particulate matter (PM) such as PM10 levels in CF houses were found to be 6-9 times of those in conventional cage (manure-belt) or enriched colony houses. PM can also serve as a carrier of airborne microorganisms and endotoxins which, once inhaled, may cause infection or trigger respiratory diseases to animals and their caretakers. In this study we designed a PM mitigation system to reduce PM levels in CF hen houses by intermittently spraying liquid (electrolyzed water-EW). In the lab-scale experiment, the optimal spray parameters were identified for EW and it could reduce PM and airborne bacteria levels by 60-70% without appreciably enhancing ammonia emissions. The cost of such a mitigation system is quite low and estimated to be 4.5 US cents per hen per year. The NH3 emissions could be reduced by 28, 52, and 79% by applying commercial litter additive at 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 kg m-2, respectively. The verification study for the system is ongoing in a commercial CF hen house. The sprinkling system can potentially provide a cost-effective mitigation of PM, NH3, and airborne bacteria (AB) concentrations and emissions of CF hen houses. Consequently, it will help the US egg industry better meet the supply demand while improving/sustaining its environmental stewardship. Objectives 1 and 2 have been generally completed. We are now working on objective 3 of this project. The following paragraphs describethe procedures and findings from the lab-scale experiments addressed Objectives 1 and 2. Three spray dosages of 25, 50, and 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 (denoted as D75, D50, and D25), three pH values of 3, 5, and 7, and two free-chlorine concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L-1 have been tested to reduce PM, NH3, and AB emissions from litter. The tests were conducted using four identical dynamic emission chambers located in an environmentally-controlled room. One DEC served as control (without acidic EW or AEW spray) and the other three served as treatment DECs. CF house litter was sprayed in the treatment DECs with AEW once a day between 11:30 and 12:00 h. A metal rake and a step motor were used for tilling the litter to mimic bird-scratching activities on the litter from 12:00 to 22:00 h. Air temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), and ventilation rate (VR) of the DECs were controlled to nearly identical conditions before the AEW spray. Assignments of the control or treatments were randomized among the DECs and distributed to avoid potential DEC effect. A data acquisition and control system was designed and used to monitor and record the environmental conditions and gases concentrations of the DECs during the tests. A biosafety lab was set up and used to analyze airborne and litter bacterial concentrations. Spraying EW resulted in 71-89% immediate reduction in PM levels. No significant difference (P=0.30-0.43) was detected in the reduction efficiency for different PM sizes. Higher spray dosages led to significantly lower emissions or concentrations of PM for all five size fractions (i.e., PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10, and TSP) (P<0.05). For example, the concentrations of PM2.5 were 9.7, 9.9 and 9.1 mg m-3 before spraying AEW and they were reduced to 3.2, 2.0, and 1.0 mg m-3 after spraying AEW at 25, 50, and 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1, respectively. The PM reductions were 57-83% 24 h post the spray. However, liquid spray enhanced NH3 emissions as it increased the litter moisture content (LMC). Application of low pH liquid to litter would help control PM and NH3 at the same time, but concerns arise about potential corrosive effect of acidic liquid on the housing equipment. To overcome this dilemma, this study evaluated the effect of applying a commercial poultry litter additive (LA, PLT®) on NH3 emissions of CF hen litter sprayed with neutral EW (NEW) at a rate of 25 mL (kg dry litter)-1 d-1. The PLT application rates were 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 kg m-2, denoted as Low-LA, Med-LA, and High-LA, respectively. CF litter was placed inside dynamic emission chambers (DECs) and stirred to mimic hen scratching. PLT was topically applied onto the litter on day 1; NEW was sprayed daily for 11 d, followed by a 3-d non-spray period (i.e., 14 d per trial); and each regiment was replicated four times. Ammonia emission rate (ER) of the control-no LA, Low-LA, Med-LA, and High-LA regimens (mean±SE) was 0.76±0.05, 0.55±0.06, 0.37±0.04, and 0.16 ±0.02 g (kg dry litter)-1d-1, respectively, namely 28-79% reduction by the treatments. The NH3 reduction efficiency is linearly proportional to PLT® application rate, with higher application rate resulting in significantly lower litter pH (P<0.05). On the last day of each trial (d14), the Med-LA and High-LA regimens continued to show relatively low NH3 emissions, suggesting the need for a longer measurement period in field verification that will follow. Spraying a lower dosage of EW (e.g., D25) at all three pH levels resulted in lower AB levels than control-no spray primarily due to the mitigation on PM (66-72%); however, spraying high spray dosage such as D75 did not reduce AB even though PM was reduced further (89-90%). In fact, higher spray dosage led to increased LMC (13% at D25 vs. 22.6% at D75), which resulted in higher concentrations of litter bacteria. For example, the litter bacteria concentration at D75-pH3 (7.7 log10CFU [g dry litter]-1) was 100 times higher than that at D75-pH3 (9.7 log10CFU [g dry litter]-1). Under the optimal regimen of D25-pH3, the effect of FC concentration 100 (FC100) and 200 mg L-1 (FC200) on AB reduction was compared. Results h=showed that FC200 had 40-45% higher AB reduction than FC100. Results generated from this test helped further understand the mechanism of bacteria reduction and are beneficial to designing disinfection system for animal houses. The lab-scale study findings provided basis for the system design. A sprinkling system was designed and installed in a commercial CF hen house (50,000 hens) in Iowa. Half of the CF house was equipped with the spraying/sprinkling system (treatment) while the remaining half served as the control. The CF has four row (two outside rows (each is 250×9 ft) and two middle rows (each is 250×4 ft). 12 bow-tie spreaders (each has the coverage area of 12×4 ft) were installed in each of outside rows and 29 spiral spreaders (each has the coverage area of 8×8 ft) were installed in each of middle rows. Field verification for the lab-scale study (liquid spray and litter additive use) is ongoing. The PLT will be applied if the indoor NH3 concentration is higher than 10 ppm. In summer of 2017, the sprinkling system was tested on heat stress reduction for laying hens in CF house. The laying hen body surface temperature were significantly reduced after liquid spray (tap water) according to images and videos took by two FLIR thermal imaging cameras. Further study for summer cooling will be conducted to identify the intermediate time under different room air temperature level to improve the heat stress reduction efficiency.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, T. Wang, M. Soupir, K. Liu. (2017). Mitigating ammonia and PM generations of cage-free henhouse litter with solid additive and liquid spray. Transactions of the ASABE. In Press. doi: 10.13031/trans.12481.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Chai, L., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, T. Wang, A. Atilgan, M. Soupir, K. Liu. (2017). Reduction of particulate matter and ammonia by spraying acidic electrolyzed water onto litter of aviary hen houses a lab-scale study. Transactions of the ASABE, 62 (2): 497-506.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Chai, L., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, T. Wang, M. Soupir, K. Liu. 2017. A laboratory study on mitigation of particulate matter, ammonia and airborne bacteria from litter of cage-free layer housing. October 23-26. 2017 International Symposium on Animal Environment & Welfare, Chongqing, China.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, T. Wang, M. Soupir, K. Liu. 2017. Mitigating ammonia emissions from hen litter of cage-free house with litter additives. In: 2017 ASABE Annual International Meeting, Spokane, WA, USA: ASABE Paper No. 1700279. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Chai, L., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, T. Wang, M. Soupir, K. Liu. 2017. Mitigating particulate matter and ammonia generations from cage-free hen litter. 2017 Iowa Egg Industry Symposium, Ames IA. (Research Poster/The Best Presentation Award).
|
Progress 12/15/15 to 12/14/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers and extension personnel in academia, egg producers, allied companies, and other stakeholders interested in egg production, and animal welfare and health. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has been providing training opportunities to graduate students, undergraduates, visiting scholars and postdoctoral research associates. Training provided included system construction, programing, instrument calibration and challenge, environmental monitoring, operation of the state-of-the-art measurement and data acquisition systems, and data analysis techniques. It has also allowed for sponsoring students and postdoc research associate to attend professional conferences such as 2016 ASABE international meeting in July 2016 in Orlando, Florida and 2016 Iowa Poultry symposium. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research results have been presented at the 2016 ASABE Annual International Meeting and 2016 Iowa Egg Industry Symposium. Our findings based on lab-scale experiment have received considerable attention from academia and industry following the ASABE meeting and Iowa Egg Industry Symposium, i.e., requests by peers for our conference paper, research poster/abstract, and research updates. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The field verification test for this study will begin with a commercial aviary hen house in Iowa, where data on emissions of PM, NH3, and airborne bacteria, litter bacteria concentrations, and laying hens' behavior after AEW spray will be collected and analyzed. Results of the verification test will be promptly disseminated as they become available.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT: A number of U.S. grocers and restaurant chains, food distributors, and hospitality firms have pledged to source only cage-free eggs by 2025 due to increasing public concerns or perception on animal welfare. As a result, cage-free egg production is increasing in USA and around the world. Previous studies show that cage-free hen houses such as aviary have many environmental challenges. Particulate matter (PM) such as PM10 levels in cage-free houses were found to be 6-9 times of those in conventional cage (manure-belt) and enriched colony houses. PM can also serve as a carrier of airborne microorganisms and endotoxins which, once inhaled, may cause infection or trigger respiratory diseases to animals and their caretakers. In this study we designed a PM mitigation system to reduce PM levels in cage-free hen houses by intermittently spraying acidic electrolyzed water (AEW). In the lab-scale experiment, the optimal spray parameters were identified for AEW and it could reduce PM and airborne bacteria levels by 60-70% without appreciably enhancing ammonia emissions. The cost of such a mitigation system is quite low and estimated to be 4.5 US cents per hen per year. The system, while remaining to be verified in field testing, can potentially provide a cost-effective mitigation of PM and airborne bacteria concentrations and emissions of cage-free hen houses. Consequently, it will help the US egg industry better meet the supply demand while improving/sustaining its environmental stewardship. Objective 1: Quantify the efficacy of spraying AEW onto the litter of aviary housing on reduction of PM, AB and NH3 generation in lab-scale experiments. Objective 1 has been mostly completed. We are now working on objectives 2 and 3 of this project. Described below are the procedures and findings from the lab-scale experiments addressing Objective 1. Three spray dosages of 25, 50, and 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 (denoted as D75, D50, and D25), three pH values of 3, 5, and 7, and two free-chlorine concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L-1 have been tested to reduce PM, NH3, and AB emissions from litter. The tests were conducted using four identical dynamic emission chambers located in an environmentally-controlled room. One DEC served as control (without AEW spray) and the other three served as treatment DECs. Aviary house litter was sprayed in the treatment DECs with AEW once a day between 11:30 and 12:00 h. A metal rake and a step motor were used for tilling the litter to mimic bird-scratching activities on the litter from 12:00 to 22:00 h. Air temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), and ventilation rate (VR) of the DECs were controlled to nearly identical conditions before the AEW spray. Assignments of the control or treatments were randomized among the DECs and distributed to avoid potential DEC effect. A data acquisition and control system was designed and used to monitor and record the environmental conditions and gases concentrations of the DECs during the tests. A biosafety lab was set up and used to analyze airborne and litter bacterial concentrations. Higher spray dosages led to significantly lower emissions or concentrations of PM for all five size fractions (i.e., PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10, and TSP) (P<0.05). For example, the concentrations of PM2.5 were 9.7, 9.9 and 9.1 mg m-3 before spraying AEW and they were reduced to 3.2, 2.0, and 1.0 mg m-3 after spraying AEW at 25, 50, and 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1, respectively. Spraying AEW resulted in 71-89% immediate reduction in PM levels. No significant difference (P=0.30-0.43) was detected in the reduction efficiency for different PM sizes. The PM reductions were 57-83% 24 h post the spray. Ammonia emission rate (ER) in the control group was 0.53-0.64 g [kg dry litter]-1d-1. In the treatment DECs, spraying higher dosages resulted in significantly higher NH3 ER (P<0.05). The NH3 ER of D75 was about 5-6 times of that for D25 for all pH levels due to the higher LMC (22.6% vs.13.0%). Meanwhile, spraying AEW with higher pH value resulted in higher NH3 emissions in that AEW at pH7 had 2-3 times higher NH3 emissions than AEW at pH3 for the same dosage. Ammonia emissions of all spray treatments were found to be higher than those of the control, albeit no significant difference between control and the 25 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 dosage at pH3 or pH5 (P=0.81, P=0.47). Pearson correlation coefficients between NH3 and spray dosage (0.82) and pH value (0.46) indicated that spray dosage is more correlated to NH3 emissions than pH value (P<0.05). The NH3 emissions identified in this study under different spray dosages and pH values revealed the fact that a compromised spray dosage is critical for NH3 and PM reductions at the same time. Spraying a lower dosage of AEW (e.g., D25) at all three pH levels resulted in lower AB levels than control-no spray primarily due to the mitigation on PM (66-72%); however, spraying high spray dosage such as D75 did not reduce AB even though PM was reduced further (89-90%). In fact, higher spray dosage led to increased LMC (13% at D25 vs. 22.6% at D75), which resulted in higher concentrations of litter bacteria. For example, the litter bacteria concentration at D75-pH3 (7.7 log10CFU [g dry litter]-1) was 100 times higher than that at D75-pH3 (9.7 log10CFU [g dry litter]-1). Under the optimal regimen of D25-pH3, the effect of FC concentration 100 (FC100) and 200 mg L-1 (FC200) on AB reduction was compared. Results h=showed that FC200 had 40-45% higher AB reduction than FC100. Results generated from this test helped further understand the mechanism of bacteria reduction and are beneficial to designing disinfection system for animal houses. Results of the lab tests, identifying the optimal AEW combination of D25-pH3, provide the basis for the field verification tests to be performed next. Objective 2: Design, install and field-test a spray system in a commercial aviary hen house. Nothing to report at this time. Objective 3: Quantify the impact of the spray system on reducing PM, AB and NH3 generation in the commercial aviary house; evaluate effects of the spray system on hen behavior and welfare; and evaluate the efficacy of the spray system on heat stress relief of hens in summertime. Nothing to report at this time.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Chai, L., Zhao, Y., Xin, H., Wang, T., Atilgan, A., Soupir, M., & Liu, K. (2016). Reduction of Particulate Matter and Ammonia by Spraying Acidic Electrolyzed Water onto Litter of Aviary Hen HousesA Lab-scale Study. ASABE Technical Paper 162455276, St. Joseph, MI: ASABE
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Chai, L., Zhao, Y., Xin, H., Wang, A., Soupir, M., & Liu, K. (2016). Mitigation of particulate matter, ammonia, and airborne bacteria from litter of cage-free hen houses through spray of acidic electrolyzed water. A poster presentation at the 2016 Iowa Poultry Symposium, Ames, Iowa, USA.
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Progress 12/15/14 to 12/14/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Scientific community (researchers and extension personnel), egg producers, allied companies, policy makers, and other stakeholders interested in egg production, animal welfare and health. Changes/Problems:Due to the unexpected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks, the progress of our project was hindered to some degree. We will do our best to catch up now that the HPAI situation is stabilized. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided excellent training opportunities to undergraduates, visiting scholars and postdoctoral research associates. Training that has been provided and will continue during the rest of the project includes system construction, programing, instrument calibration and challenge, environmental monitoring, operation of the state-of-the-art measurement and data acquisition systems; and data analysis techniques. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have made the scientific community (researchers and extension specialists through multi-state research project annual meeting), egg producers, and allied companies aware of this ongoing project, with the expectation that more tangible results to be shared next year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to conduct the lab-scale experiment, develop the spraying system, and prepare/perform the field experiment (air quality measurement and animal health assessment). By the time of the next report, we expect to finish the lab-scale experiments and deploy the spraying system in the field. We also plan to disseminate/publish results of the lab-scale experiments at the 2016 Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. New undergraduates will be hired and trained to work on the microbiological aspect of the project (bacterial culture).
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The unexpected high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak during the first half of the year significantly impeded the progress of this project. During the outbreak, our collaborative farm (and almost all other poultry farms) was closed to all visitors to protect their hens from being infected. Thus we were unable to get the poultry litter. Actually, any manipulation of chicken manure during the outbreak would be a risk of disease spread and it was prudent not to touch it until the situation became more stabilized. Despite the challenge, we managed to make progresses in system setup and instrument calibration. These improved system modifications will enable the investigators to obtain the highest quality data. Objective 1. Quantify the efficacy of spraying acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) onto the litter of aviary housing on reduction of PM, AB and NH3 generation in lab-scale experiments. We redesigned and modified the four existing dynamic emission chambers (DECs) to better serve the specific tasks (lab-scale experiments) of this project. The DEC is built with transparent Plexiglas. Fresh air provided by an air pump enters the DEC through perforated inlets near the top and exits through perforated outlets at the bottom. The DEC is equipped with a HEPA filter to remove PM and microorganisms from the ventilation air before entering the DEC. Litter collected from commercial aviary hen houses will be stored in a plastic container, and tilled automatically using a rake driven by a stepper motor to mimic birds' activities on floor litter. The space next to the litter container is used for storing humidifier/dehumidifier, as needed, to adjust inside relative humidity at desired level. The inside thermal environment is continuously monitored using a temperature and RH probe. A 12V mixing fan is installed to homogenize the air conditions inside the DEC. A spray nozzle is installed for each DEC for AEW spraying. Two heavy-duty gloves are mounted to the DEC to facilitate operation in the DEC without opening it (thus avoiding air exchange between DEC and the ambient). Air lines for air sampling of the DEC and from ambient are completed. One diaphragm air pump is continuously running to collect air from the DEC's and deliver the sampled air to the gas analyzer. Five solenoid valves are installed and operated ON/OFF sequentially to direct the air collection from a desired location. Each air sampling line is installed with a coarse dust filter and a fine dust filter to prevent the solenoid valves, pump and the gas analyzer from being contaminated. The air flow rate through each DEC is controlled by a valve and is measured by a mass flow meter on the supply side. A robust LabVIEW-based data acquisition (DAQ) and control system has been developed that can record data (including gas concentration, temperature, RH, ventilation rate, spraying status, and valve status) and control the components (air valve, and motor/rake) automatically while displaying and monitoring real-time data online. The system reads data and controls instruments through sending/receiving data to a compact Fieldpoint with modules of different functionalities. A thermal couple module, an analog input module, and two digital output modules are used in this study. Data will be recorded to technical data management stream (TDMS) files at 30 sec intervals (the response time of the ammonia gas analyzer), whereas the control signal will communicate instrument at 1 sec intervals. The spraying system has been completed and tested. A diaphragm pump is used for spraying the AEW. Output of the pump was adjusted to produce the desired flow rate (to 200 mL/min) through a lower voltage input (3V). Calibration and challenge of thr gas analyzer and sensors have been performed. The gas analyzer has been challenged with zero gas (99.999% nitrogen gas) and span gases of ammonia (21.5 ppm) and carbon dioxide (3100 ppm). The thermocouples (T-type) have been compared to a precision thermometer, and the readings are within 0.2°C. The RH sensors have been calibrated using hygrometer at seven levels. Calibration curves with R2>0.97 are developed. The abovementioned QA/QC protocols will help us to ensure highest quality of the resultant data. A one-week preliminary experiment has been performed to test the system. It shows that the system works well. The results show that the pollutants and organisms are reduced by up to 99% for inhalable PM, 49% for NH3, 80% for total bacteria, and 99% for Gram-negative (Gram-) bacteria by spraying 60 or 90 mL/[kg litter] AEW (pH = 6.0, FC = 400 mg/L) to the litter, as compared to control (no spray). These preliminary data will help us to optimize the spraying parameters, including spraying dose and antimicrobial compound concentration, in the real lab-scale experiment. Objective 2. Design, install and field-test a spray system in a commercial aviary hen house. Progress has also been made for field experiment. We are communicating with a company that manufactures AEW spraying system for swine barns. With our outcomes from the lab-experiment and field experiences and spraying system from the company, the field experiment (Objective 2) is expected to be expedited. A kick-off stakeholder meeting will be held in January 2016. Objective 3. Quantify the impact of the spray system on reducing PM, AB and NH3 generation in the commercial aviary house; evaluate effects of the spray system on hen behavior and welfare; and evaluate the efficacy of the spray system on heat stress relief of hens in summertime. This work is planned for subsequent years; objectives 1 and 2 must be completed before work can commence.
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