Managing Ammonia Emissions Cost Effectively

Ammonia is both a critical component and byproduct of production agricultural systems. It is an important source form of nitrogen in crop production when applied to the soil as anhydrous ammonia. Ammonia is also released from agricultural systems as a gas. The release occurs from both animal production through excretion of urine and the near-immediate conversion to ammonia and the continual release of ammonia from animal housing and manure storage systems and the release from manure application. Reduction of ammonia from various components of agricultural systems requires the development of methods that modify the ammonia formation process or reduce the emission rate of ammonia to the boundary layer of the atmosphere. In animal production systems reductions in ammonia production can be achieved through maintaining the manure in an acidic state that reduces the conversion of nitrogen into ammonia. Reductions in ammonia emission from manure storage facilities are possible through either changing the storage environment from an anaerobic to an aerobic one or by covering the storage surface with an impermeable cover. Reductions in ammonia release from agricultural systems will require adoption of treatment methods that reduce the formation, emission, or transport. Direct comparisons of treatment technologies will result in quantifying how ammonia flux or emissions into the atmosphere can be reduced. Combinations of direct measurements and emission models from agricultural systems are being used to define how agricultural systems affect ammonia levels in the environment.

Throughout USDA in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Cooperative States Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) there are ongoing activities to determine the ammonia emission from beef, dairy, poultry, and swine operations. These efforts are helping define the variation in emission rates across different production systems. Coupled with these measurement studies are ongoing efforts in dairy, poultry, and swine facilities to evaluate potential treatment technologies that reduce ammonia emissions. Ammonia emissions and treatment technologies are being addressed through combinations of scientists that understand the components of agricultural systems and how they can be managed for improved performance efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

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