Evaluation of frequent slurry removal as an option to mitigate ammonia and greenhouse gases emissions from dairy barns

DELA PIERRE FLAVIA; FRIULI MARTINA; ROLLÈ LUCA; SCARPECI TELMA ELEONORA; DINUCCIO ELIO

Napoli

Workshop; IEEE International Workshop on Measurements and Applications in Veterinary and Animal Sciences; 2023

IEEE

Dairy barns have been identified as an important source of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The aim of the study was the evaluation of frequent slurry removal as a strategy to mitigate NH3 and GHG emissions from dairy barns. A comparison between two different manure management systems was performed considering removal frequencies of 4 and 12 times/day. Gas emissions monitoring sessions were performed in the spring and summer 2022 at two naturally ventilated dairy barns located in Candiolo (Turin – Italy). A representative section with five sampling points was selected in each barn for gas concentration measurements. Gas concentrations were measured using a quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) analyser (ETG 6900), coupled with a multipoint sampler, and gaseous emissions were estimated through the carbon dioxide (CO2) mass balancemethod. According to the experimental results, the removal frequency of 12 times/day led to significative reductions in NH3, and N2O emissions of 27 and 69%, respectively. Average CH4 emissions were also reduced (-15%), even though this reduction was not statistically significative.