- Location
- Yorkshire
Justin Emery – Senior Ventilation Consultant (draperGROUP)
UK poultry farms are increasingly being challenged by the permitting requirements to reduce the concentrations of ammonia leaving houses. About 65% of the total nitrogen intake of a bird is excreted, with 17% not digested and 48% not utilised. When litter moisture content is 25 - 35%, microbial action readily converts faeces into ammonia.
Best practice is to limit ammonia emission to maintain dry bedding, with good internal air recirculation, air change helped by heat recovery, and much better climate control. With the correct installation managed correctly, reduction of ammonia can be 30 - 50% on the UK standard broiler emission factor (0.034kg-NH3/place/yr).
However, the regulators are looking to stabilise the ammonia background count. They are asked to juggle several, perhaps contradictory, aims such as minimising damage to the environment whilst encouraging food production (without incurring excess cost) and trying to encourage a reduction in energy use.
Reducing ammonia emissions using ‘acid scrubbing’ techniques has suddenly become a requirement for many proposed poultry farms in the UK, especially in Wales. Essentially, acid scrubbing involves passing exhaust air through a large matrix wetted by a solution of sulphuric acid and water, so that volatile ammonia is dissolved into the liquid, leaving the exhausted air much cleaner. Acid scrubbing is the most efficient and reliable ammonia removal system, with reductions of 90% possible for some applications, where sulphuric acid converts ammonia into an ammonium sulphate solution.
But this reduction is only achieved by incurring (in my opinion) excessive capital and energy cost to the farmer without, to date, meaningful consideration from the retailer and consumer. There is cost inflation across the board, but now inflation of means needed to tackle emissions.
There is limited on-line guidance from regulators, but detailed advice on how much to scrub tends to come from planning consultants, environmental modellers. How to ventilate and how to scrub comes from the equipment suppliers.
Call us at draperGROUP to discuss this further and we can provide any guidance that you may need.
UK poultry farms are increasingly being challenged by the permitting requirements to reduce the concentrations of ammonia leaving houses. About 65% of the total nitrogen intake of a bird is excreted, with 17% not digested and 48% not utilised. When litter moisture content is 25 - 35%, microbial action readily converts faeces into ammonia.
Best practice is to limit ammonia emission to maintain dry bedding, with good internal air recirculation, air change helped by heat recovery, and much better climate control. With the correct installation managed correctly, reduction of ammonia can be 30 - 50% on the UK standard broiler emission factor (0.034kg-NH3/place/yr).
However, the regulators are looking to stabilise the ammonia background count. They are asked to juggle several, perhaps contradictory, aims such as minimising damage to the environment whilst encouraging food production (without incurring excess cost) and trying to encourage a reduction in energy use.
Reducing ammonia emissions using ‘acid scrubbing’ techniques has suddenly become a requirement for many proposed poultry farms in the UK, especially in Wales. Essentially, acid scrubbing involves passing exhaust air through a large matrix wetted by a solution of sulphuric acid and water, so that volatile ammonia is dissolved into the liquid, leaving the exhausted air much cleaner. Acid scrubbing is the most efficient and reliable ammonia removal system, with reductions of 90% possible for some applications, where sulphuric acid converts ammonia into an ammonium sulphate solution.
But this reduction is only achieved by incurring (in my opinion) excessive capital and energy cost to the farmer without, to date, meaningful consideration from the retailer and consumer. There is cost inflation across the board, but now inflation of means needed to tackle emissions.
There is limited on-line guidance from regulators, but detailed advice on how much to scrub tends to come from planning consultants, environmental modellers. How to ventilate and how to scrub comes from the equipment suppliers.
- You are rearing poultry or pigs first – the ventilation and other hardware is ‘more important’ than the scrubber
- Find a system that integrates energy saving solutions e.g. heat – it is possible
- The scrubber equipment must meet the permit requirements
- UK regulators do not insist on one scrubber type, or one certification
- Acid is corrosive – the system must be resistant and durable
- The year-on-year running costs vary considerably between scrubber types, depending on the running costs of pumps – do check carefully
Call us at draperGROUP to discuss this further and we can provide any guidance that you may need.