Development of a laboratory method for comparing emissions from manure

A study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between manure storage time and temperature on gas and odor emissions. This research is part of a larger study to develop a standard laboratory procedure for studying the relationship between manure physical, chemical and biological characteristics and gas and odor emissions. In the near future this standard laboratory method could be used for comparing gas and odor emissions from different sources and quantify emission mitigation methods. Results from this study suggest that manure stored between 2 and 7 days at 5.6°C will have consistent emissions of NH3. However, warm storage (approximately 22°C) for more than 48 hrs affects the NH3 and H2S emission rates. As such, a laboratory protocol should limit the time in warm storage to less than 48 hours. Emission measurements were very repeatable with the most variation found in the H2S emissions.