Ammonia Emissions from Animal Waste

Ammonia is a part of the nitrogen cycle. There are two types, ionized and unionized. Unionized is the most toxic to aquatic organisms. It comes from the chemical and bacterial decomposition, or breakdown, of animal waste. | Environmental Assessment: Pressure State Response Indicators Policy Pressures and Policy Options Technology Options

The acceptable amount to protect aquatic life is less than 0.2 ppm. Important sources of ammonia runoff include:

- leakage of manure from animal housing, and
- manure storage.

Stables, dairies and manure storage are major sources of ammonia emissions and leakage of minerals to the land and ground and surface water. Ammonia will readily volatise upon exposure of manure to the air, the greater the exposure, i.e. a larger specific area in contact with the air, the more amonia will volatise. Surface run-off with cleaning or rain water or from farmyards, feedlot areas, stables can be an important source of pollution.

Ammonia volatilisation from poultry litter results in a build-up of atmospheric amonia in chicken houses. This is detrimental to both farm labourers and to the birds.

This type environmental pollution as a result of leakage, evaporation and runoff from buildings, farmyards and manure storage could be prevented by well designed farm constructions and reduced use of water for cleaning.

Ammonia loss from litter is detrimental to the external environment because it results in acid rain, as well as low N/P ratios - which increse the liklihood of excessive P runoff into adjacent water bodies.

Atmospheric emissions of amonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) associated with animal waste are a worldwide problem and may contribute to a detrimental impact on the environment. Amonia emissions can result in Nitrogen fertilization and species change in natural ecosystems and/or eutrophication of water systems. Methane and N2O are radiatively active trace gases involved in global warming. All of these agricultural gaseous emissions are regional and international problems because of their potential for long distance transport. Scientists in Europe attribute part of the Black Forest dieback in Europe to amonia emissions from agricultural sources in The Netherlands. It is now thought the 25 to 35% of the Nitrogen in Chesapeake Bay in the US is from atmospheric deposition, some of which is derived from amonia emissions from pig production in North Carolina and other surrounding states. Although the net efficiency of production economically and with respect to wastes per unit output is enhanced by concentrated production, it is possible to overload the production area with nutrients, particularly Nitrogen. In the U.S., pigs produce over 100 million tons of feces and urine each year and about 30% of this waste is stored in anaerobic lagoons before effluent application to the land (this is currently the recommended method of disposal). Both amonia and methane are lost directly from storage lagoons. After land application, significant quantities of both amonia and nitrous oxide may be lost to the atmosphere.

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