Commission of the European Communities

ODOUR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ORGANIC SLUDGE AND LIVESTOCK FARMING

ELSEVIER APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

ODOUR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ORGANIC SLUDGE AND LIVESTOCK FARMING

Proceedings of a seminar held in Silsoe, United Kingdom, 15-19 April 1985

;>v'._

f"{

y.

ODOUR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ORGANIC SLUDGE A N D LIVESTOCK FARMING

Edited by

V. C. NIELSEN
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Reading, UK

J. H. VOORBURG
Rijks Agrarische Afvalwater Dienst, Arnhem, The Netherlands and

P. L'HERMITE
Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium

PARI EUROP. BibJioth.

CI.

TV

ELSEVIER APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

LONDON and NEW YORK

ELSEVIER APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD Crown House. Linton Road, Barking, Essex IG11 8JU, England Sole Distributor in the USA and Canada ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO.. INC. 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA WITH 81 TABLES AND 145 ILLUSTRATIONS c ECSC, EEC, EAEC, BRUSSELS AND LUXEMBOURG, 1986 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Odour prevention and control of organic sludge and livestock farming I. Agricultureodor control I. Nielsen, V. C. II. Voorburg, J. H. III. L'Hermite, P. 630 S494.5.03 ISBN 1-85166-010-0 Library of Congress CIP data applied for

Publication arrangements by Commission of the European Communities, DirectorateGeneral Information Market and Innovation, Luxembourg EUR 10358 LEGAL NOTICE Neither the Commission of the European Communities nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. Special regulations for readers in the USA This publication has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Inc. (CCC), Salem. Massachusetts. Information can be obtained from the CCC about conditions under which photocopies of parts of this publication may be made in the USA. All other copyright questions, including photocopying outside the USA, should be referred to the publisher. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording. or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in Great Britain by Galliard (Printers) Ltd. Great Yarmouth

PREFACE

An important aspect of the treatment of sludges and slurries is the emission of odour. International cooperation in odour control and odour measurement is only possible if the results are comparable. For this reason, Working Party I of the COST Project 681 established a sub-group to study the international development of odour measurement techniques. The inventory made by this sub-group resulted in a proposal for a workshop on olfactometric measurement in order (1) to exchange experiences with different olfactometers, and (2) to consider the possibilities of more harmonised measurement. As odour measurement is not a goal in itself but a step on the way to odour control, it was decided to combine this workshop with a workshop of the FAO Sub-network 2 devoted to reduction of odour in animal farming. Although odour control and odour measurement were mainly discussed in parallel sessions, the combination of these two workshops contributed to the success of the meeting. There was an intensive exchange of information between the parallel sessions and lively contact between the participants. The excellent organisation and the good accommodation of the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Silsoe made this possible. The results of the sessions on odour control are summarised by the organiser of the joint workshop, V. C. Nielsen. The sessions on odour measurement were followed by a meeting of a small group of experts in the Rosewarne House. During this meeting there was agreement on a number of conditions to be met to make the results of olfactometric measurement more consistent and more comparable. These 'Recommendations on olfactometric measurement' are a useful result of the sessions on odour measurement.
J. H. VOORBURG

Vll

CONTENTS

Preface. General Scientific Papers A review of COST Project 681 Treatment and use of organic sludges and liquid agricultural wastes' A. M. BRUCE {Water Research Centre, Stevenage, UK) A review of work of the FAO Sub-network 2: the reduction of odours in animal production V. C. NIELSEN (Farm Waste Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Reading, UK) Odour problems related to waste water and sludge treatment . A. S. EIKUM and R. STORHAUG (Aquateam-Norwegian Water Technology Centre, Oslo, Norway) Agricultural problems related to odour prevention and control . D. C. HARDWICK (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, London, UK) Odour research and ammonia volatilisation J. H. VOORBURG (Government Agricultural Wastewater Service, Arnhem, The Netherlands) Ammonia loss from grassland systems J. C. RYDEN (Animal and Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, UK) 2

12

21

27

33

Vlll

Session I: Olfactometry EEC-Group Sampling of odorous air for olfactometric measurement . . J. HARTUNG (Institute for Animal Hygiene of the Hannover School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal Republic of Germany) Standardization of olfactometric measurements . . . . J. H. VOORBURG (Government Agricultural Wastewater Service, Arnhem, The Netherlands) Selection and treatment of panelists for determination of odor thresholds M. HANGARTNER (Department of Hygiene and Applied Physiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland) VDI guidelines on odour problems V. THIELE (Landesanstaltfur Immissionsschutz des Landes NRW, Essen, Federal Republic of Germany) An established system for odour detection threshold measurements R. L. Moss (Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, Herts, UK) Guideline for olfactometric measurements in The Netherlands: comparison with Western European guidelines . . . . H. L. J. M. WIJNEN (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, Air Directorate, Division of Air Quality, Leidschendam, The Netherlands) French Tentative Standard X-43-101: Method of measurements of the odour of a gaseous effluent. Comments on interpretations made by Messrs Hartung, Voorburg and Hangartner . . . . M. F. THAL (Commissariat a FEnergie Atomique, IPSN/DPT/ SPIN, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France) 44

52

55

61

63

69

78

Experiences with olfactometric measurements in Norway . . 8 1 P. HOLMVANG (Centre for Industrial Research, Oslo, Norway) Limitations imposed on olfactometric measurements by the human factor E. P. KOSTER (Psychological Laboratory, Utrecht University, The Netherlands) 86

IX

Experiences with transportable olfactometers . . . . H. MANNEBECK (Institut fur Landwirtschaftliche Verfahrenstechnik der Universitdt Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany) Dispersion models for emissions from agricultural sources . G.-J. MEJER and K.-H. KRAUSE (Institut fur Landtechnische Grundlagenforschung der Bundesforschungsanstalt fur Landwirtschaft, Braunschweig, Federal Republic of Germany)

94

99

Experiences with olfactometers 113 J. V. KLARENBEEK (Institute of Agricultural Engineering, I MAG, Wageningen, The Netherlands) Physical calibration of olfactometric measurements . . .120 A. G. WILLIAMS {National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, UK) Developments in the assessment of odours from sludges . .131 S. J. TOOGOOD (Water Research Centre, Stevenage, UK) and J. DIAPER (School of Environmental Science, University of Bradford, UK) Odour concentration and odour annoyance 146 P. H. PUNTER, E. P. KOSTER (Psychological Laboratory, Utrecht University, The Netherlands), J. SCHAEFER (Divisionfor Nutrition and Food Research, TNO Zeist, The Netherlands) and K. D. MAIWALD (Hydraulics Laboratory, Delft, The Netherlands) Comparison of olfactometric odour measurement and chemical odour measurement N. SCHAMP and H. VAN LANGENHOVE (Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, State University of Ghent, Belgium) Session II: Odour Control FAO-Group Treatment of livestock manure: air drying and composting poultry manure 166 W. KROODSMA (Institute of Agricultural Engineering, I MAG, Wageningen, The Netherlands)

153

The effect of insulating broiler house floors on odour emission . 175 E. N. J. VAN OUWERKERK and J. A. M. VOERMANS (Institute of Agricultural Engineering, I MAG, Wageningen, The Netherlands) Use of peat as litter for milking cows I. PELTOLA (Work Efficiency Association, Rajamdki, Finland) 181

Covering manure storing tanks to control odour . . . .188 H. MANNEBECK (Institut fur Landwirtschaftliche Verfahrenstechnik der Universitdt Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany) Machinery spreading: soil injection as a barrier to odour dispersion 194 J. E. HALL (Water Research Centre, Medmenham Laboratory, UK) Swedish experiences with soil injection 207 O. NOREN (Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Uppsala, Sweden) Separation as a method of manure handling and odours reduction in pig buildings 213 W. KROODSMA (Institute of Agricultural Engineering, I MAG, Wageningen, The Netherlands) Measurements of the olfactometric efficiency of various odour control devices in rendering plants 222 G.-J. MEJER (Institut fur Landtechnische Grundlagenforschung der Bundesforschungsanstalt fur Landwirtschaft, Braunschweig, Federal Republic of Germany) The effects of weather on odour dispersion from livestock buildings and from fields 227 M. L. WILLIAMS (Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, UK) and N. THOMPSON (Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK) Design and use of biofilters for livestock buildings . . . 234 O. NOREN (Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Uppsala, Sweden)

XI

Experience in the use of biofilters 238 M. A. VAN GEELEN (Institute of Agricultural Engineering, 1MAG, Wageningen, The Netherlands) Design and experience obtained with bioscrubbers .241 S. SCHIRZ (Kuratorium fur Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL), Darmstadt, Federal Republic of Germany) Aeration of pig slurry to control odours and to reduce nitrogen levels 251 M. COPELLI, S. D E ANGELIS and G. BONAZZI (Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali, Reggio Emilia, Italy) Oxygen requirements for controlling odours from pig slurry by aeration 258
A. G. WILLIAMS, M. SHAW, C. M. SELVIAH and R. J. CUMBY

(National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, UK) Aeration and odour control by heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms 273
M. R. EVANS and S. BAINES (West of Scotland Agricultural

College, Auchincruive, Ayr, Scotland, UK) Joint Session: Other Aspects of Measuring Odours Identification of volatile components in headspace from animal slurries 284
E. M. ODAM, J. M. J. PAGE, M. G. TOWNSEND and J. P. G. WILKINS (Agricultural Science Service, Ministry of Agriculture,

Fisheries and Food, Tolworth Laboratory, UK) Odours at water reclamation works G. L. JOHNSON (Regional Laboratory, Authority, Finham, UK) 296 Severn-Trent Water

BOD 5 , TOA and odour offensiveness 307 F. E. THACKER and M. R. EVANS (Microbiology Department, West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr, Scotland, UK)

Xll

Dust in livestock buildings as a carrier of odours . . . .321 J. HARTUNG (Institute for Animal Hygiene of the Hannover School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal Republic of Germany) Dust concentrations in pig buildings 333 G. A. CARPENTER and L. J. MOULSLEY (National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, UK) Large-scale biogas plants in Hungary 336 G. MESZAROS and L. MATYAS (National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Godollo, Hungary) Anaerobic digestion to control odours
P. ESTEBAN TURZO, J. GUTTIEREZ SALGUERO and A. MORE HERRERO

343

The bio-gas project in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) . . . . 347 G. BONAZZI, L. CORTELLINI, S. PICCININI (Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali, Reggio Emilia, Italy) and A. TILCHE (ENEA, Roma, Italy) The bio-gas project in Emilia-Romagna (Italy): first results of five full scale plants 353 L. CORTELLINI, S. PICCININI (Centro Richerche Produzioni Animali, Reggio Emilia, Italy) and A. TILCHE (ENEA, Bologna, Italy) Farm experiments of anaerobic digestion to control odours from slurry 358 J. A. M. VOERMANS (Institute of Agricultural Engineering, I MAG, Wageningen, The Netherlands) Use of methanogenic fermentation to upgrade farm animal and slaughterhouse wastes 366 I. KLlNGERand U. MARCHAIM (Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan and Migal Galilee Technological Centre, Kiryat Shmona, Israel) Latest chemical slurry handling methods 372 I. BOLONI and Gy. MESZAROS (National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Godollo, Hungary)

Xlll

Conclusions and Recommendations Recommendations on olfactometric measurements . . . 378 J. H. VOORBURG (Government Agricultural Wastewater Service, Arnhem, The Netherlands) The conclusions and recommendations for further work arising from the FAO EEC joint workshop on odour prevention and control of organic sludges and livestock farming 382 V. C. NIELSEN (Co-ordinator of the workshop for the FAO Subnetworks 2 and 3, Farm Waste Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Reading, UK) List of Participants Index of Authors 387 391

GENERAL SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

A review of cost project 681 "Treatment and use of organic sludges and liquid agricultural wastes"

A review of work of the FAO sub-network 2. The reduction of odours in animal production Odour problems related to waste water and sludge treatment Agricultural problems prevention and control related to odour

Odour research and ammonia volatilisation

Ammonia loss from grassland systems

A REVIEW OF COST PROJECT 681 TREATMENT AND USE OF ORGAHIC SLUDGES AND LIQUID AGRICULTURAL WASTES" A. H. Bruce Water Research Centre, Stevenage, Herts

Smmarv
Co-ordination and co-operation among EEC and other countries in the field of research on sewage sludge has been active since 1972 under the auspices of a 'COST' Project sponsored by the Commission of the European Communities. The most recent stage of this co-operation - COST 681 has seen a widening of scope to include research on animal manures. There is interest in both the processing of sludges and manures and in their effects when used in agriculture. Five Working Parties are established. Odour nuisance is a particular problem associated with handling and disposal of organic sludges and manures. Recently COST 681 established a sub-group (as part of Working Party 1) to review the methods used for odour measurement in various countries with the aim of promoting greater harmonisation. Involvement in this Workshop is part of the activity. The sub-group is also preparing an inventory of European organisations and scientists actively involved in research on environmental odour measurement and control. A bibliography of recent publications in this field will also be prepared for a COST 681 Symposium to be held in Rome in October 1985.

INTRODUCTION In 1972, the Commission of the European Communities initiated COST Project 68 "Sewage Sludge Processing". COST is an acronym for 'Co-operation cientifique et Technique1 - the main object of COST 68, as with all COST projects, being to promote co-operation, co-ordination and information-exchange among people involved in publicly-funded research in the EEC Member States - in this case on ' sewage sludge processing'. Several countries outside the EEC also accepted an invitation to participate in this scientific and technical co-operation. Taking Europe as a whole, around 120 million wet tonnes of sewage sludge are produced each year and production will probably rise to close to 200 million tonnes per year by the end of the century. There is, therefore, an interest in all countries in research to improve ways of dealing with sewage sludge and thus most countries support some research in this area. The establishment of 'COST 68' was a formal recognition that the problems related to sewage sludge are shared to a greater or lesser extent by all European countries. The COST Project 68 lasted for 2 years and was considered "fruitful for scientific progress in the field"; there were seen to be also "considerable advantages to the 13 individual countries in sharing research in this project"(D. It was not surprising therefore when a decision was made by the European Commission in 1976 to continue this type of co-operation in the form of a 'Concerted Action' designated 'COST 68 bis'.

COST 68 bis was more extensive in scope than the initial project since it covered both treatment and use of sewage sludge. This meant that the topics included both the engineering and economics aspects of sludge processing at sewage works and the environmental aspects of sludge disposal particularly in regard to its utilisation as a fertilizer in agriculture. The use of sewage sludge in this way is important in most countries and it was recognised that co-ordinated research was desirable into both the possible adverse environmental effects of heavy metals and pathogens in sludges and the beneficial effects of plant nutrients in sludge. The problem of odour nuisance arising from the handling and spreading of sewage sludge was also recognised as an important subject-area for research. Under COST 68 bis, five Working Parties were established to co-ordinate the various areas of research. As a 'Concerted Action', no direct funding was available from the European Commission to finance research projects on sewage sludge, each country being expected to contribute its own publicly-funded projects to the common 'pool'. COST 68 bis ran from 1977 to 1980(2) and was followed by an extension programme - COST 68 ter - which ran from 1981 to 1983(3). In 1983, it was decided to further extend this Concerted Action but to widen the range of research topics in the scientific programme to include animal manures. The renewed programme was designated COST Project 681 'Treatment and Use of Organic Sludges and Liquid Agricultural Wastes'. It is obvious that sewage sludges and farm manures have many aspects in common particularly with regard to handling and treatment techniques and to the environmental impact (e.g. odour) which can occur from their utilisation on land. On the other hand, from the administrative point of view, sewage sludge and farm manures are in two different 'worlds'. Sewage sludge is the general responsibility of public authorities while responsibility for disposing of animal manures belong mainly to the private farming sector. Funding for research on the two types of waste, even if from Government sources, is usually from different Departments and there is little cross-involvement of research scientists in the two sectors. Nonetheless, the COST 681 activity is attempting to promote seme co-ordination of effort between the two research areas and, hopefully, this will result in mutual benefit to both those authorities responsible for sewage sludge treatment and those concerned with farm manures and their disposal. This joint Workshop on 'odours' is a good example of the type of co-operation, and sharing of information on a common problem, which can be of great mutual benefit to both sectors. PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES The countries participating in the current COST 681 activity are:E Belgium Other European Countries Austria Norway Sweden Switzerland

France FR Germany + Greece Ireland Italy Netherlands United Kingdom

Denmark

Finland

+ Canada

The non-EEC European countries have to make a financial contribution to the European Commission in respect of the COST 681 activity and this is a sure indication that they consider their involvement to be of value. Canada has the more informal status of an invited participant in seme of the technical meetings. There are also links with relevant international organisations such as the FAO - as is evidenced by this joint Workshop. ORGANISATION OF COST 681 A C T I V m E S As indicated earlier, COST 681 is organised into 5 Working Parties under the general guidance of a Management Committee of National Delegates (Current President: H. H. Scheltinga of the Netherlands). The Working Parties and their respective areas of responsibilities are:Working Party 1. Sludge Processing New sludge/manure processing techniques; sludge and manure handling; economics; odour measurement and control; sludge characterisation. Working Party 2; ChwnlraJ Pollnt-jon Analytical methods for heavy metals and organic contaminants in sludges. Costs of Analyses. Working Party 3. Hvgenic Aspects Enumeration of sludge pathogens and parasites; efficiency of disinfection methods; indicator organisms; epidemiological aspects of sludge utilisation. Fate of pathogens on land. Working Party 4. Agricultural Value Availability to crops of sludge N and P; effects of sludge organic matter on soil fertility. Working Party 5. Environmental Effects Phytotoxic and zootoxic effects Guidelines for disposal to farmland. of heavy metals in sludge.

Each Working Party organises workshops and seminars on relevant topics and the proceedings of these are published by the European Commission. Over 10 of these publications are now available. Interlaboratory comparisons of analytical methods are also organised among the participating countries. The main emphasis is still on sewage sludge since many of the scientists involved are based in the 'water industry' and receive support largely, if not entirely, from that industry. RESEARCH ON ODOURS The topic of 'odours' and odour measurement has been on the programme of the COST 68 activity since the early days. Initially, under COST 68, seme studies were made of methods of assessing sludge stability^) and these included odour assessment but little further co-ordinated work was done until the establishment in 1981 of a sub-group on 'odours' as part of the activity of Working Party 1 of COST 681. The problem of odour nuisance arising from the handling and landspreading of sewage sludge is well known in the water industry. Indeed the main purpose of subjecting sludges to stabilisation treatment (e.g. digestion) at sewage works is to control odour nuisance. The problem is shared in all countries but it is usually not possible to quantify it precisely in relation to other problems associated with sewage sludge. In the UK, however, a recent survey s h o w e d ^ (Table 1) that most of the

complaints or problems relating to disposal of sewage sludge to land were related to odour nuisance. Table 1. Summary of complaints or problems relating to disposal of sewage sludge to land in the UK (1980 data)C) Type of problem Environmental nuisance (smell) Transport Water Pollution Agricultural Metals Veterinary Planning consent

Per cent occurrence 60 19 10

5 4 1
1 100

It is clear from this that odour nuisance is an important problem and it follows that standard methods of scientifically measuring odours are desirable. ACTIVITY OF COST 681 SUB-GROUP 'ODOURS' This sub group was established in 1984 as part of the activity of Working Party 1 but drawing on experts from outside the Working Party. The Chairman is Mr J H Voorburg of the Netherlands and other experts in odours include Dr M Hangartner (CH), Dr J Hartung (D), Dr A Eikum (No) and Mr V C Nielsen (UK). Mr H M Scheltinga (NL) and A M Bruce (UK) are also members of the group. The sub-group is hoping to complete its tasks quickly, the main ones being (a) To develop proposals for a harmonised and standardised odour measurement technique (b) To exchange information about research on odour measurement and control. On (a) good progress has been made in collecting information on the existing guidelines in different countries for sampling and transportation of samples for odour measurement, for dilution techniques and for panel selection etc. The question of acceptable levels of odour intensity is not being considered. All these matters will be discussed at this joint Workshop and it is hoped that clear recommendations will emerge from the experts so that a formal report can be presented for discussion at the COST 681 4th Symposium to be held in Rome in October 1985. In regard to objective (b), one of the major tasks of the sub-group has been to compile an inventory of organisations and scientists in Europe who are actively involved in research on the measurement and/or

control of environmental odours. Additionally, the sub-group is preparing a bibliography of European reports and papers on odour measurement and control which have been published in the last 5 years. This inventory will also be made available at the COST 681 Rome Symposium in October 1985. So far, the enquiries for the inventory of research organisations has indicated a considerable variation in research activity on odours among the European countries (Table 2 ) . In most cases, there is seme Government funding for this research. Overall, it is hoped that this aspect of the sub-group's work will promote an improved inter-change of information and co-operation between organisations and scientists in this field. Table 2. Preliminary information concerning research on the measurement and control of environmental odours in European countries Country Belgium France FR Germany Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Other countries No of Research organisations involved Government Funding
v/

2 5 15 6 2 1 2 8
0*

x / v/

X X

Information to date; The final report will contain full details of the organisations and their personnel. OTHER COST 681 ACTIVITIES RELATING TO ODOURS Other activities related to odours are directed mainly at odour control techniques - particularly methods of sludge and slurry stabilisation. There is continuing research and development relating to anaerobic digestion as a process for odour control; a COST 681 Workshop on new developments in anerobic digestion was held in 1984(5). There are also developments in aerobic thermophilic digestion which have been considered by COST 681 Working Party No 1. A review of chemical and biological methods of odour control has been prepared for a COST 681 series of Review papers^). CONCLUSIONS Odour measurement and control is just one of the many aspects of the treatment and use of organic sludges and liquid animal wastes considered within the COST 681 co-ordination activity. But it is a very important aspect and one which is receiving particular attention during the current phase of the scientific programme.

REFERENCES (1) Commission of the European Communities. COST Project 68. Sewage Sludge Processing. Final Report of the Management Committee. 1975. (2) Commission of the European Communities. COST Project 68 bis. Treatment and Use of Sewage Sludge. Final Reports of the Community - COST Concertation Committee. (3) Commission of the European Communities. COST project 68 ter. Reports of the Community COST Concertation Committee. 1983. Final

(1) Department of the Environment/National Water Council Standing Committee on the Disposal of Sewage Sludge. Sewage Sludge Survey 1980 Data. Department of the Environment 1983. (5) Anaerobic digestion of Sewage Sludge and Organic Agricultural Waste. Proceedings of a COST 681 Workshop held in Athens Hay 1984. (In the Press). (6) EIKUM, A.S., and BERG, N. Odour characterisation and removal of odours from facilities receiving septage. To be published in Review Papers on Sewage Sludge Processing, 1985. Commission of the European Communities, Brussels.

A REVIEW OF W O R K 0? THE FAO SUB-NET.VORK 2 THE REDUCTION OF ODOURS IN ANIMAL PRODUCTION V. C. NIELSEN Head of t h e Farm ,Vaste U n i t , ADAS Ministry of A g r i c u l t u r e , F i s h e r i e s and Food

Summary
Sub-network 2, the reduction of odours in animal production, forms part of the consultative information network on Animal Waste Utilisation. The concept of international cooperation and the exchange of scientific information was established by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (F.A.O.) of the United Nations in 1973. There are ten european consultative information networks in operation. The Animal Waste Utilisation network is coordinated by Mr P. E. Lohm in Sweden. This network is broken down into five sub-networks which cover the effect of livestock wastes on: animal and human health, odour reduction, building and machinery design, standardisation of methods of sampling and analysis, and the effect of loading rates on soil fertility. Sub-network 2, activities over the past eight years have been to establish the exchange of information at meetings arranged at research institutes, to define research priorities for future work and to establish standard techniques of monitoring and analysis. A H the subnetworks meet every three years to review progress and arrange future programmes. The objective to eventually produce an easily understood set of guidelines for farmers and provide technical advioe and assistance to developing countries.

INTRODUCTION The subnetwork on the reduction of odours in animal production, was set up as a result of a consultative meeting of interested European states organised by the Swedish Government on behalf of FAO in 1976 The concept of a consultative information network was already well established by FAO by its European System of Co-operative Research Networks (ESCORENA) which commenced in 1973. ESCORENA has sponsored and established ten networks, these range in interest from olive production, pesticide impact on the environment, maize production to animal waste utilisation. The basic prinoiple on which all the networks operate is that, no single country has the resources to carry out all the technological and scientific research necessary to maintain progress in any subject. Therefore, a well defined international co-operative research and development programme which encourages the sharing of information and avoids the unnecessary duplication of work and resources would be of benefit to all those involved. Also enshrined in this ideal is the concept that the information gathered should be made freely available to all developing countries throughout the world. The Bteps necessary to achieve these objectives are:1. the development of integrated international research and development programmes organised through the consultative system.

1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

the collection and evaluation of scientific data and technical information by the co-operating institutions, co-ordinated by the sub-networks. the production of technical and scientific reports by means of seminars, workshops and symposia. the development of basic systems. finally the production of easily understood guidelines for farmers.

The consultative information network on Animal waste Utilisation is maintained by the co-ordinator of the network, Mr p E Lohm, he runs the co-ordination centre at the Swedish Board of Agriculture, Jonkoping. At the initial consultative meeting held at Solna Sweden in 1976, it was agreed that agricultural wastes was such a large and wide ranging subject area, that it could not be covered entirely by the network. After discussion five important subject areas were selected for detailed attention as sub-networks these were:1. The influence of manure handling and utilisation systems on animal and human health. The oo-ordinator is Professor I Ekesbo, Department of Animal Hygiene Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The Reduction of Odours in Animal Production The co-ordinator Mr V C Nielsen Farm Waste Unit ADAS Reading UK. Different manure handling methods and their interaction with building construction and environmental hazards. C o - o r d i n a t o r Dr I Boloni, I n s t i t u t e of A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r i n g , Godollo, Hungary. The o o l l e c t i o n and e v a l u a t i o n of d i f f e r e n t l i q u i d manure sampling and a n a l y t i c a l methods t o o b t a i n comparable r e s u l t s . C o - o r d i n a t o r Mr J K a r l i n g e r , Department of P l a n t P r o t e c t i o n and A g r i c u l t u r a l Chemistry, M i n i s t r y of A g r i c u l t u r e and Food, Budapest, Hungary. The S o i l s c a p a c i t y for animal wastes C o - o r d i n a t o r Professor B 7 Vetter, U n i v e r s i t y , Oldenburg, F R Germany. SUB-NETWORK 2 , THE REDUCTION OF ODOURS IK ANIMAL PRODUCTION The following o b j e c t i v e s a r e t h e o a s i s of i t s c o - o p e r a t i v e programme: The development of methods to measure odours and odour dispersion. To determine acceptable concentrations of odorants and acceptable distances between private houses and livestock buildings. The control of odours from manure spread on fields and from manure stores. To evaluate existing control methods in terms of costs and effectiveness. To evaluate the treatment of liquid manure by aerobic and anaerobic biological systems. To determine the parameters which control treatment and its efficiency in controlling odours and the costs of treatment. To develop and evaluate control systems for the treatment of odour emissions from the ventilation systems in livestock buildings.

2. 3.

4.

5.

2.

1. 2. 3.

4.

The sub-network operates by agreeing a programme of work which is put forward for approval at the triannual consultation meeting of the entire network. A review of the operation of the sub-network is carried out at meetings held at co-operating scientific institutes. These usually

10
ooour halfway between the major consultation meetings. The sub-network meetings consist of the presentation of technical reports by Bombers and a review of progress. These meetings may make fundamental changes in the programme depending on how the work is progressing. Hone of the research and development work is funded by FAO and all of the participation by co-operating institutes and their staff is entirely voluntary. It therefore requires a certain amount of adjustment by participants to link up their research and development work funded by international and national agencies with the co-operative programme. It is UBual during sub-network meetings to visit sites where research and development is being carried out and to observe the introduction of new techniques on farms. During the eight years that the sub-network has functioned consultation meetings have been held at Nyon, Switzerland 1978, Wageningen, Netherlands 1980, and Budapest, Hungary 1983. Sub-network meetings have been held at Wageningen, Netherlands 1979 and at Hanover, F R Germany 1982. At the sub-network meeting held at Wageningen in 1979 papers were presented on the following topics. 1. 2. 3. k5. Odour measurement techniques in use in the Netherlands and in Sweden. The use of gaschromatography to determine the presence of odorous compounds in the air in pig buildings and poultry houses. Methods of collecting and evaluating odorous air from land spreading operations. Odour dispersion studies around farm buildings. Information on odour control and prevention.

Papers were presented at the consultative meeting held at Wageningen 1980 as follows:Sampling of odorous compounds in animal house air by paper absorption for gaschromatographic analyses J Hartung The control of odours in animal production A A Jongebreur Papers were presented at the Sub-network meeting held at Hannover F R Germany in 1 982 were as follows:Odour measurement techniques under trial with ADAS in the UK V C Nielsen Investigation of the effect of pig fattening house dust on some odorous compounds Odour measurements in Dutch Agriculture Latest state of the Olfactometer and guidelines for its use Odour control of pig housing and land spreading Odour control problems in the UK, some case histories Dust filters to reduce odour from broiler houses Legislation in France, some case histories Emission control problems and experiences with the VD 1 Guidelines 3471 in Germany V C Nielsen M Van Geelen J F David Mr Huffmeyer G T Meyer 0 Noren J Hartung J V Klarenbeek

11
A paper was presented to the consultation meeting held in Budapest, Hungary 1983. Odour complaints caused by agricultural enterprises in the UK and some control procedures. V C Nielsen At the last consultation meeting held in Budapest 1983, the sub-networks outline programme for the next three years agreed to hold a workshop at Silsoe UK. At that meeting Professor A A Jongebreur gave up the co-ordination of the sub-network which he had held since 1977 and it was agreed that V C Nielsen should take over. The content of the programme of the workshop was as follows:To agree to standardise odour measurement techniques to enable quantitative measurements of emission rates of odour from different livestock production systems. 2. To quantify odour reduction by aerobic and anaerobic treatment of liquid manures. 3. To evaluate odour reduction from livestock buildings by the use of biofliters. if. To evaluate and describe livestock production systems which have low levels of odour emission and which have low energy demands and improve the welfare of livestock. 5. To evaluate the role of dust in livestock buildings and its effect on the transmission of odour and disease. The consultative meeting suggested that the topics set out in the workshop programme had an interest and an input from Snbnetwork 3 and that both groups should combine their interests. As the programme for the workshop developed there was an overlap of interest with the Cost 681 ESC programme of work on the "Treatment and Use of Organic Sludge and Liquid Agricultural Wastes", in particular with the work of the expert group on Odours. It was agreed by this group that a combined workshop would be of advantage to both the FAO and EEC working parties. Formal arrangements were made for a combined workshop at a meeting held at the University of Hannover in November 1984. It is expected that the proceedings of the workshop will be published by the EEC. The drawing together of all the information will then be used as a basis on which to commence work on guidelines for farmers. 1.

12
ODOUR PROBLEMS RELATED TO WASTE WATER AND SLUDGE TREATMENT

A.S. EIKUM R. STORHAUG Aquateam-Norwegian Water Technology Centre A/S Summary Odour problems are closely connected to sewage collection, treatment and sludge disposal. There are many reasons for this, like improper operation and design of the facilities. Different methods are in use for avoiding the generation of odourous gases in sewage treatment systems. One of the most effective means are new operational routines like sewer cleaning programs, and odour reduction equipment at treatment plants. Collection and treatment of the odourous air have proved to be very effective. Different methods are in use for reducing the odourous gases. A chemical scrubber or combustion effectively eliminates odours. The use of activated carbon filters will reduce odours, but filter media get saturated and require a total change or regeneration. Biological methods, for exemple a soil filter, for odour reduction have come into use in the last few years; mainly due to a simple and inexpensive design. The soil filter effectively reduces the odour and seems to have a relatively long lifespan. Iron oxide filters have also proven to reduce odours. Experience is limited with these filters, but so far they seem to be inexpensive and effective.

1.

INTRODUCTION

Collection and handling of wastewater have caused odour problems for many years. New treatment plants are built close to populated areas and old plants have been gradually surrounded by new dwellings. Many countries have regulations for the minimum distance between treatment plant and dwelling areas. Even though the treatment plant meets the minimum distance requirement, still odour can become a large nuisance in the neighbourhood. Today, public is more aware of odour problems and no longer accepts strong odour emissions from sewage and sludge treatment facilities. ODOUR PRODUCTION Fresh wastewater has a characteristic musty scent. The wastewater is named "fresh" when disolved oxygen is present. If microbiological decay is occuring in the absence of molecular oxygen and nitrates, the wastewater is called "septic". The odour-causing substances usually arise as a result of biological activity in the sewerage system or at the treatment plant. Hydrogen sulfide (H S) and ammonia (NH ) are the principal inorganic gases, that causes odour problems. Mercaptans, indoles, skatoles and various other nitrogen and sulfur-bearing organics are the most important organic substances. In some cases the odour is not produced in the wastewater, but is added from industrial or other sources. The most common cause of odours in wastewater collection and treatment is hydrogen sulfide (H S ) . This gas has a smell often described as "rotten eggs". 2.

13
ODOU R IN THE SEWAGE COLLECTION SYSTEM The anaerobic conditions occur when the disolved oxygen (DO) of the sewage is absent. The anaerobic bacteria has a longer generation time than their aerobic counter parts. As a result of this a sufficient detention time in the collection system is necessary before the production of H S can start. The sulfides are produced in the slimes of the submerged surface of the sewer or from settled sludge in the sewer. Odour problems from the collection system (man-holes and pumping stations) occure normally only in flat areas where the sewage has a long detention time in the pipeline. The odour effect in the collection system is usually most prevalent during warm weather conditions (20C and higher) (1). As a result of this, odour from the collection system is not a large problem in the northern part of Europe. 4. ODOU R IN THE SEWAGE TREATMENT PROCESS The treatment of municipal sewage can be devided into four different groups. Primary treatment: Removal of settable particles " Secondary treatment: Removal of organic matter. Tertiary treatment: Removal of phosphorus. Sludge treatment: Different processes, stabilisation, dewatering, desinfection. Figure 1 shows a flow-sheet where the four different groups of treatment are put together. 3.

M PRI ARY TREATM ENT Bar tcmn Grit clumber

SECONDARY TREATM ENT

TERTIARY TREATM ENT Flocculatlon

^H~

Rotating biological contactor*

SLUDGE TREATMENT

Figure 1 The most common processes in municipal sewage treatment

14
The odour arise from many different sources within the plant. The most important sources are: Odours fron raw sewage Raw sewage entering the plant may have already developed odours in the collection system. These gases will quickly be released when entering the plant. Screenings and grit removal Material removed by the bar-screen and in the grit chamber can cause odours if not disposed off quickly after removal. However, screenings and grit are not a major source of odours at municipal plants. The outlet weirs from the sedimentation tanks. Water that drops down a foot or two from the outlet weir can cause the emission of odourous gases from the sewage. This is usually a problem only after primary sedimentation. Accumulated grease and sludge on surfaces Unless the plant operation is proper, grease accumulate on different surfaces and cause odour. and sludge will

Accumulated sludge in the settling tanks. If the sludge in the settling tanks are not removed on regularly, the accumulated sludge can cause odour problems. Secondary treatment units If the secondary treatment step is overloaded, the DO-consentration will be depleted and odours will develope. Sludge treatment processes Both thickening, digestion odour problems. and sludge dewatering very often cause

Receiving facilities for septage Discharging of septage from tanker vehicles is on one of the most common sources of odour problems. Figure 1 shows a conventional treatment plant. Oxidation-ponds serving as independent treatment units are mainly used in rural areas. These ponds can be the source of a variety of different odours. Algaes are probably the main problem with regard to odour production at these plants. (1) METHODS FOR ODOUR PREVENTION OR REMOVAL In general there are four different areas of odour control in sewerage systems. Changes in operational routines. Chemical treatment of the sewage. The use of new and less odour-producing methods in the sewage treatment. Covering the treatment units and treatment of the odourous air. Changes in present operation routines are in many cases of the most effective and inexpensive means of odour control. Sewer cleaning programs are examples of that kind of odour control. Chlorine has been found to be the most popular chemical for inhibiting the anaerobic bacteria causing H S generation. But the use of chemicals to prevent odour generation in tne 5.

15
sewer system or at the treatment plant is usually a temporary method in the case of odour problems. Covering the odour-generating processes and treatment 'of the collected air is a common method of odour control. In Scandinavia nearly all of the treatment plants are built indoor. Usually the different tanks are also covered. The air is collected under the cover and blown through odour removal equipment. On outdoor plants domes and enclosures are frequently used to cover the different tanks. 6. AN OVERVIEW OF ODOUR-REMOVAL EQUIPMENT

Chemical scrubbers Chemical scrubbers utilize hypochlorite as oxidizing agent. The scrubbers are either single- or two/three-stage scrubbers. Generally it can be concluded that the installation and use of the scrubbers have been quite successful. On Figure 2 a two-stage scrubber, type Steuler, is shown. The first stage is an alkaline oxidation (NaOH+ NaOCL) and the second stage is an acidic wash using H SO..

Mitt alimiiMtot

Figure 2. Chemical scrubber, type Steuler. The results from total odour strength measurements of different chemical scrubbers, show odour reduction efficiencies between 95 per cent and 98 per cent. ED of the cleaned air has been found to be between 50 and 100, and the air has been characterized as "free from sewage odours, but it smells like chemicals". It seems as if a chemical scrubber always gives this "scrubber odour". Cost for operating the chemical scrubbers can be devided into chemical cost and cost of energy. Energy will always contribute most to the total cost of operation.

16
Activated carbon filters Use of carbon filter odour reduction is quite common at municipal wastewater treatment plants. The odour compounds are not destroyed in the filter, but only retained until the carbon becomes saturated. When the filter is saturated the carbon is changed or regenerated. Odour strength measurements at different sewage treatment plants in Norway have shown that no rule can be made as to when the change of filters has to take place. During a cold winter longer intervals are possible compared to the warmer seasons. In Figure 3 an activated carbon filter used for cleaning exhaust air from a dewatering process is shown. Together with the carbon, the equipment includes a grease-filter and a condensation unit. Odour strength measurements in Norway have indicated reduction efficiensies up to 83 per cent when a completely new filter was used. An old filter, which had been used twice as long as the manufacturer had recommended, shewed, however, reduction efficiencies of 72 per cent. Cleaned a i r Activated carbon filter

Grease filter

Condensing unit

Exhaust air

Condensing water Figure 3. Carbon filter for odour reduction. The cleaned air from the activated carbon unit had a wastewater smell. Evidently not all odour components were destroyed in the filter. When the filter becomes saturated, the components leave the filter as new odourous air reaches the filter. Combustion The principle of burning odour components to highly oxidized products with little or no odour, is very old. If the temperature and contact time of the gases in the combustion chamber are sufficient, combustion of odour from a sewage treatment plant, without doubt, is the best odour reduction method. Contact time up to 3 seconds and temperatures of about 850C have been reported as sufficient.(4)(5) Catalytic oxidation makes it possible to destroy odourous gases at temperatures lower than without catalysts. Low concentrations of odourous compounds and sulfuric odour compounds reduce the effect of the catalyst and thus limit the application of catalytic oxidation for control of odours

17
at wastewater treatment plants. Another problem with combustion of odourous gases is the rising fuel costs. A special incinerator just to take care of the odours from a treatment plant would not be economical compared to the use of chemical scrubbers. If, however, sludge gas from a digester is available, the fuel costs can be reduced. The City of Oslo has the only treatment plant in Norway using combustion to reduce odour. The plant has digesters and therefore low fuel costs. The efficiencies measured show a very good odour reduction, up to 98-99 per cent. No wastewater odour was recognized in the cleaned air, only a faint "burnt odour". Soil filters Extensive work has been carried out in the US regarding the use of soil filters for odour reduction. (6) It was shown that the filter performance depended on filter loading, type of soil, soil moisture, temperature and concentration of odourous components. The US study also concluded that both chemical and biological processes were responsible for the odour reduction. At TAU Treatment Plant in Tensberg, Norway, a full-scale soil filter was put into operation in the Summer 1981. (3) The filter treats odours from the receiving facility for septage only. This facility handles 14.000 m] of septic tank pumpings annually. The filter consists of 35 m' of filter area, 0.5 m thick. The air is distributed through a diffusor system with a 400 mm header pipe with twelve mm laterals. The pipes are located in the gravel layer. The air flow through the filter is 2.000 m3 /h under constant operation. When a tank truck empties septage at the plant, the screen automatically goes into operation, and the fan speed increases to a capacity of 3.000 m 3 /h. When the screen stops, the fan capacity is again reduced to 2.000 m 3 /h. The filter loading therefore varies between 57 m3/m! . h and 86 m3/m! . h. The filter design is shown in Figure 4. Regarding clusions. longterm performance it is too early to draw any con-

Tau/Vall Soil Filter

Chlmnay

Scratn/lan control

"p f^w^^^m

-Soil (50 cm) - 100 mm pipe

Stptagt

Storage tank (clod>

Figure 4. Full-scale soil filter at TAU Treatment Plant, Tonsberg, Norway.

Iron oxide filters Only limited information is available regarding the design and use of iron oxide filters for odour reduction, although Cormack et al. describe the filters in their work. (7) Based on a study by Eikum (8), the City of Oslo built an iron oxide filter at Festningen Treatment Plant. The untreated air is taken from a closed compartment above a sludge storage basin. The filter was designed for a maximum capacity of 90 m3/m2 .h, but the actual loading can vary between 20 and 90 m3 /m2 .h. The total filter area is 9 m2 and the media consists of 900 kg Fe 0 mixed with 4 m3 wood chips. The design of the filter is shown in Figure 5. The ED was tested through a 4-month period. Prior to this testing period the iilter had been in operation for four months. The removal efficiency varied between 61 and 89 per cent (9) . No offensive odour was detected out of the filter; only the "wood chips odor" from the filter media. Mixture of wood chips and iron oxide Dense top Cleaned air

Drainage

' Exhaust air

Figure 5. Iron oxide Norway.

filter design

at Festningen Treatment Plant, Oslo,

In Tonsberg, Norway, an iron oxide filter was constructed to reduce odours from a pumping station close to the municipal treatment plant. The filter is shown in Figure 6. The filter treats odours caused by evacuation of air from a pressure main. The air enters the filter through a perforated pipe at the bottom and flows through the filter media into the atmosphere. The filter has been in operation since the Summer of 1978. Tests of the filter performance have been carried out regularly since then.

19

/Jt-

from pumping station

Pipe to open in case of filter media treating

Perforated pipe

Figure 6. Iron oxide filter in Tansberg, Norway. The pumping station is located in a residential district, and before the iron oxide filter was installed, there were frequent complaints from residents in the area. After the filter was installed, the complaints ceased completely. Ozone Ozone has been used successfully to treat odourous air on wastewater treatment plants. Due to its relatively high generation costs and high reactivity, the addition of ozone to a large flow is not practical. However, ozone can be applied economically to odours that are collected by covered facilities. Ozon will oxidize sulfides and amines to nonodours gases. Figure 7 shows ozone odour-removal equipment installed at a treatment plant that receives septage.

20

'o1O1

Figure 7. Ozone odour-removal equipment. In (1C) the investment costs for a system treating 1.500 m3 air/hour are estimated to about 10.000. REFERENCES (1) CHEREMISINOF, P.N. and YOUNG, R.A. (1975). Industrial Odor Technology Assessment. Ann Arbour Science Publishers Inc. (2) DAGUE, R.R. (1972). Fundamentals of Odor Control. Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation Vol. 44, No. 4, 583-594. (3) EIKUM, A.S. (1982). Treatment of Septage, VA-rapport 11/82, Norwegian Institute of Water Research. (4) PETTIT, C.G. (1959), Twenty Years of Sewage Sludge Burning at Barberton, Ohio. Journ. San. Eng. Div. Proc. Amer. Soc. Civil Engr. 85 SA 6, p. 17. (5) LAB00N, J.F., (1961), Construction and Operation of the Pittsburgh Project. Jour. Water Poll. Control Fed. 33, p. 758 (6) CARLSON, D.A. and LEISER, C.P., (1966), Soil Beds for the Control of Sewage Odors. Jour. Water Poll. Control Fed. 34, pp. 829-840. (7) C0RMACK, J.W. et al., (1974), Odor Control Facilities at the Clavey Road Sewage Treatment Plant. The 47th Annual Conference Water Pollution Control Federation, Denver, Colorado, Sept. (8) EIKUM, A.S., (1976), Reduksjon av lukt fra mottakeranlegg for septikslam. Proceedings NIF-kurs, Fagernes, Norway. (9) BERG, N., (1979), Reduksjon av lukt ved kloakkrenseanlegg. NTNF's Utvalg for drift av renseanlegg, HPF 24/76, Oslo, Norway. (10) J0HANSEN, O.J., (1982). Luktfjerning ved bruk av ozon. Drift 2/82, NTNF's Utvalg for drift av renseanlegg; 10-12.

21
AOTICULTURAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO ODOUR PREVENTION AND CONTROL D. C. Hardwick Pollution Scientist, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, England and Wales Summary The paper provides a general background to the need for odour research. The origin of the problem includes the changing attitude to agriculture and the changes in agricultural practice. Complaints about smells can be reduced either by reducing the strength and/or offensiveness of the smell or by reducing the adverse reaction of human beings to the smell. The majority of complaints are caused by pig farming in the UK and slurry spreading from pigs and cattle account for half the sources of complaint. Buildings and storage are less significant, this indicates that the greatest need for control is for slurry as spread, although treatment in storage may help both storage and spreading problems. The basis for providing cordon sanitaire around offensive smell sources involves estimations of the distances travelled by smells. The vagaries of weather create difficulties here and precise measurement at one time can give misleading information. What is perhaps needed is rough estimates much more frequently. Short term peaks of odour may give rise to complaints without being easily recorded. There are also important social factors in assessing people's reactions to smells. It is unlikely that any one approach alone will solve the problems of smell. The application of a battery of remedies as part of a total systems approach seems to offer the best possibility.

Introduction This paper attemps to analyse the problems of agricultural odour in order to assess the potential contribution of the various approaches to reducing complaints. The paper refers mainly to the UK situation but the discussion should be valid more generally. Origins of the Problem A number of industries are traditionally associated with the production of unpleasant smells, e.g. leatherworks, fat rendering plants, cement works, soap works and glue works. But these are generally associated with urban environments and many living close to them depend on the industry for their livelihood. Similarly, those traditionallly living in the country depended on agriculture for their income and accepted unpleasant smells as part of the situation. Excursions into the country gave most city people the idea that the agricultural environment smelt pleasantly of hay, field beans and, at worse, a brief whiff of cow manure. Nowadays, people are increasingly moving their homes from the town (where they still work) into the country and these are often the richer people. They find that the impression of a fine summer's day in the country

22
is not sustained on more permanent acquaintance. Their expectation was far too often disappointed. They have no financial interest in the agricultural industry because they can get a supply of cheap food from elsewhere. They therefore have no incentive and no wish to put up with the unpleasant facts of country life. Parallel to this move into the country, the keeping of animals, particularly pigs, in large numbers has provided economic benefits. But this has involved methods of handling excreta based on slurry rather than on solid farmyard manure and this increases the intensity and offensiveness of animal operations. Silage and oilseed rape add to the unpleasantness of country air. The UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, in its report on Agriculture and Pollution, said : "It is clear that the smells associated with intensive animal production give the most offence to, and cause most complaint by, the public at large. It is also the most difficult problem to define. The reaction to smells and the assessment of their intensity are highly subjective matters. However, refined measurement is unnecessary to establish that the smell created by intensivelive stock units can be very objectionable. We are talking here of smells that are far removed from the "good country smell" of farmyard manure. The smell of pig slurry, as we experienced when visiting Humberside with its many pig units, is highly offensive and penetrating. Those people unfortunate enough to be living or working downwind when pig slurry is being spread on the land may well find the smell intolerable. In broiler and veal calf units the smell problem is intensified for a week or two at the end of the creatures' brief lifecycle, when the accumulated excreta and dropped feedstuff in the bedding encourage extensive fungal and bacterial growth and an extremely strong ammoniacal smell is produced. This smell builds up and is then vented outside of the building. The problems of smell nuisance are mainly associated with intensive animal production and are more acute when intensive units are close to settlements or when the units need to export excreta for disposal on other farms that are so sited. Much can be done to minimise the smell nuisance by adhering to good management practice both in the rearing process and when the excreta are stored or spread on the land. If slurry can be spread on the land within one or two days of its production, that is, before anaerobic decomposition starts, much of the smell problem is avoided. The risk of smell nuisance is also affected by the technique used for slurry application, being reduced by the use of slurry tankers having a low trajectory discharge or fitted with low-level dribble bars, or by direct injection into the soil. For a number of reasons, however, such as the avoidance of water pollution, the weather conditions, the farmers cropping programme or the soil type, it is not usually possible to spread slurry so soon after its production, or at regular intervals. Thus the slurry has to be stored, perhaps for the duration of the winter, and it may then be necessary to consider some form of treatment to facilitate storage and to avoid the risk of pollution and smell." Unfortunately, animals - and their excreta - smell and there is no prospect that such smell can be totally eliminated. Do not let us forget that humans smell too, but we become habituated to those smells. Three factors conspire together to make the problem very difficult : a. the production of smells is very variable; b. the transport of smells to sensitive human noses is very variable; c. human response to odours, their offensiveness, strength and duration, is very variable.

23
It is particularly difficult to remove the cause of complaint once people become sensitised to a situation. Even if the smell is reduced to what would originally have been acceptable, people will often continue to complain, perhaps fearing peaks of smell as great as they earlier experienced. Possible Approaches to Reducing Complaints There are two major areas of study implied in this analysis of the problem. First, how can we reduce the smell at source or restrict the production of odour to acceptable levels and defined period. Experience here suggests that reductions would have to be by at least an order of magnitude to cure a problem, although smaller reductions may help to prevent complaints in the first place. Secondly, there is the much less scientific but equally important and very complex question of how to reduce the adverse reactions of human beings to unpleasant smells. There are many problems here of attitude surveys, of definition of strength and offensiveness of smells and their duration which need to be considered. But our discussions so often centre around the physical smell and ignore the human reaction which is an equally important factor in the situation. Changes in attitude have been as important as changes in agriculture in highlighting the problem and should be part of the way we attempt to reduce it. Sources of Complaint AB explained below, administration of the law on nuisance from odour is in the hands of our local authorities - those in charge of cities or rural districts. These are the only source of statistics on the occurrence of odour nuisance generally and, in recent years, we have been developing a useful basis on which such figures can be collected and reported. We cannot yet say what the trend is because we have no run of comparable figures over the years. Table 1 gives the number of premises reported as causing complaints in 1982 - in earlier years the number of complaints was sometimes recorded and it appears (although we cannot be certain) that, on average, there are two or three complaints for every odour source. Table 1. Number of premises caualng .justifiable complaints - 1982
Odour Source Pigs No | X 2241 1691 5261 841 Cat tie No X Poultry No| X Tot ,1 No X

Buildings Slurry Storage Slurry Spreading Animal Feed Production Silage Clamps Total

22 17 52 8
1 100

65 98 122 4
68 357

18 163| 28
781

36 17 42 3 2

452 345 838 99 86

1820

25 19 46 5 5

34 190| 1 19
111 8|

101 10131 561

100 450| 100

24|

20

1001

24
For England and Wales, pigs predominate with over half the number of premises. For pigst cattle and poultry together, manure spreading predominates although poultry buildings are almost as important. Buildings and storage each provide about a fifth of the complaints, rather more for cattle. For cattle, too, silage is an important odour source. Of course the relative balance of such figures will vary from country to country depending on the balance in agricultural activities, but I think that the general sort of distribution would be similar. These figures are useful in indicating where major effort is required. For example, eliminating odour from buildings alone would not diminish the complaints overall by a big factor, although such work could be important in individual cases. The most important problem is reducing odour produced by spreading and its importance probably reflects the difficulties of solving it at a cost acceptable to the farmer. Reducing that problem could also help in some measure with reducing smell during storage. At present, the sort of options include reverting to earlier systems based on straw. In this country, welfare considerations demand some straw for housed livestock and this may cause problems in some modern slurry systems. Whether there will be a move back to traditional systems because of welfare considerations is not yet clear. Treatment of the exhaust air from buildings or distributing it sufficiently high that it does not reach noses at 2m above the ground are options to be costed. Treatment of slurry during storage either aerobically or anaerobically affects smell and could help both storage and preading problems. And finally, methods of spreading such as injection or immediate incorporation have a limited utility. Another approach to treatment is to mask the odour with another one and this depends crucially on the attitude of people to different smells. Not everyone finds a continual smell of violets pleasant. Nevertheless, such an approach has had some success. Because no one method seems likely to be effective enough, combinations of approaches will often be necessary and this suggests that more work could well be done on total systems approaches rather than on looking at individual factors. Such research work is costly, and the extent to which it is supported will depend on the extent to which the problem of odours is given priority over some other subjects. Distances Over Which Complaints Occur In the UK, we have also started to get information on the distances over which offensive smells travel. The data are, as yet, in a preliminary form and no well-founded conclusions can be drawn from them. But the impression so far is that relatively few complaints are more than 500m from the source. This may, of course, be related to the increasing difficulty of identifying a source at a distance - or even identifying the nature of a transient, unpleasant smell. On the other hand, it would appear that pig odours can, on occasion, cause complaints at 5 km or more. This again emphasises the predominance of pigs as a source of unacceptable smells. The question of distance is important legally in deciding whether to specify distances between odour sources and housing, hospitals, schools etc. The rules operated in Germany, the Netherlands and Australia are of great interest and it may be significant that Australia, which has much more space and lower concentrations of humans than Europe, allows larger distances between source and human nose than does Europe. The UK Legal Situation It might be helpful if here I describe something of the UK law on odour about which I shall be speaking later in the Conference. Odour

25
offences are included under the Public Health Act (1936) although a report recently of a Working Party on the Supression of Odour from Offensive and Selective Trades said " Farm odours have no known effect on the health of the individual but reactions to these are undoubtedly real and can cause distress and, above all, negation of leisure in the accepted English sense." The Act, however, probably reflects the ancient view that disease can be carried by smell. Essentially, the Act provides two approaches. The first concentrates on the cause of the nuisance and how to remedy the nuisance. Here the defendant can claim that he is using best practicable means to abate the smell or that such means will be used in future. The second deals with the loss of amenity suffered by the complainant; here the nuisance must be removed completely. Currently in the UK, most complaints are upheld. This may reflect the fact that only the worst cases get as far as a court, but it also creates the feeling that the defending farmer has little to defend himself with. This is therefore another important area for study which is particularly difficult. How can we provide an adequate evaluation of whether a situation would be acceptable or not to "the average man", and how can we evaluate measures to reduce a cause of complaint ? Much work has been done on one aspect, the intensity of smell, but the offensiveness is also a factor. No measure of either of these is independent of the other. Currently, the methodology is based on panels of human beings but, because this is a very expensive way of doing things, we are in the UK looking at the possibility of correlating such observations with chemical measures. If the correlation is sufficiently good, chemical methods could be an acceptable subsitute but that possibility is still a long way off. There is, too, an important aspect which adds to the problems we face. Human reaction is often to transient smells, perhaps lasting less than a minute. Indeed, variation may often create more complaint than a steady level of smell. But it is difficult to collect enough samples over such a short time to allow measurement by a panel or even by chemical means. And it is equally difficult to be ready to sample when the problems of smell are being experienced. Social Factors Finally, I wish to touch on the broader area of psychological and social approaches. We have instances where farmers have no complaints when they maintain slurry spreaders in a clean condition, and people do not, presumably, identify what is happening with smell. Equally, people have become so sensitised that they complain when water is put onto fields from a slurry Bpreader. More broadly, people will be more likely to complain about someone they dislike and tolerate unpleasant smells caused by someone who is generally liked, although at the physical level farmers should do all they can to keep smells down to a minimum, we know how intractable the problem is at that level at present. Let us not ignore other ways of helping farmers deal with the problem, even if these ways ar not very scientific. Conclusion I have tried to provide a broad view of the agricultural problem, how it has developed and the areas which merit study. Inevitably, we shall be concerned here with ways of reducing smell more effectively and more cheaply. But we should be aware that, in difficult situations, only large reductions may reduce complaints. Alongside this area of study, the vaguer area of reaction to odour and the related social situations also requires

26
work because greater knowledge there could contribute to the overall solution. In England, we have a saying "What can't be cured must be endured" and, short of a complete cure, we must learn how to help people to endure. And finally, we must establish the basis for a more equitable legal regime based, inevitably, on the average man's response. This should also provide us with better, more widely acceptable means of evaluating situations objectively so that laws can be effectively administered.

27
ODOUR RESEARCH AND AMMONIA VOLATILISATION J.H. VOORBURG Government Agricultural Waste Water Service (R.A.A.D.) Arnhem, The Netherlands

Summary One of the volatile compounds in animal manure is ammonia. It is not supposed to give an important contribution to the odour problems. However it is sometimes used to estimate the concentration or the volume of odour emissions. Recent publications lead to the conclusion that ammonia contributes to the effects of acid precipitation. The main source of ammonia is animal production and regions with a high animal density are expected to have a high emission of ammonia. Because it is a volatile compound research workers in the field of odour measurement and odour control have the best knowledge and the best tools to study ammonia emissions. A proposal is made for the main goals of a research program.

1. INTRODUCTION Liquid manure contains quite a lot of volatile compounds. Each of them can contribute to the odour emission. Sometimes this contribution can be neglected as is the case with acetic acid. A volatile compound which deserves more attention is ammonia. Sometimes it is considered to be important as a factor in odour measurement techniques. In this paper attention is paid to the ammonia emission from slurry as such. There are more and more indications that this emis sions cause considerable damage to the environment, being possibly more important than the nuisance of bad smells. 2. AMMONIA AND ODOUR MEASUREMENT During the CEC-seminar in Bad Zwischenahn, Kowalewsky (1) concluded that NH-i is suitable for use as a main component. He defined a main component as a compound whose concentration correlates with the sensory evaluation of odour intensity. He found a correlation coefficient of r = 0.85 and concluded that only four NH, determinations are necessary to determine the odour level with a confidence of 90 percent. In the Netherlands Logtenberg (2) found in the air from pig-houses a correlation between the odour concentration in odour units and the concentration of p-cresal of r = 0.71. The correlation with the NH, concentration was 0.3 so it was concluded that in any way the NH, concentration is not a suitable estimate of the odour concentration.

28
A Becond case of the use of ammonia for odour measurement is reported by van Harreveld (3)Van Harreveld measured the odour emission of a composting plant. AS it was a composting plant with a surface of k ha it was impossible to measure the flowrate. He solved this problem in measuring the ratio mg NH-i/m^: odour unit6/m3 in the air leewards of the plant. As it was known from other experiments that the NH-z losses per ton of compost produced were 2,1 kg, he could calculate the emission in odour unit/s from this composting plant. 3. AMMONIA IS NOT A TRACER BUT A SEVERE PROBLEM An important topic of this workshop is: "Odour measurement". The two cases I described in which ammonia was just an aid in odour measurement are an illustration of the fact that usually ammonia is considered as just one of the volatile compounds in the air from stables, but not as a severe problem. Recent publications have shown that ammonia emissions from stables and from manure are a problem as serious as the odour emissions. The first mention of this problem is done by Breemen etal C O . In analysing canopy throughfall and stemflow in woodland areas in the Netherlands he found unexpected high concentrations of ammonia sulphate. This concentration was two to five times higher than in the rainwater that did not come in contact with the leaves or stem. In the soil under this woods he found a low pH and N in the form of NOj~. From this he concluded that the NHj after nitrification is contributing to the acidification caused by the acid rain. He estimates the nitrogen inputs from throughfall and stemflow in the locations under observation to be 64 and 63 kg per ha per year. After this publication much work is done to check this conclusions. This leads more and more to the conviction that ammonia plays an important part in the problem of acid precipitation. The main part is deposed in a dry form. This in combination with sulphate. There are discussions between agriculture and industry if ammonia is stimulating the dry deposition of sulphates or that the sulphates increase the deposition of ammonia. The main source of ammonia emissions is animal production. As this are ground - level sources the dispersion and deposition is over much shorter distances than the emissions from the industry ejected from high chimneys. Buijsman (5), calculated the ammonia emission in the Netherlands. He estimates the total emission into the atmosphere to be 130000 ton per year of which 110000 tons from animal manure. ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ACID PRECIPITATION Buijsman based his calculation on the manure production per animal and the N content of this manure. He assumed that in cattle and pig manure 50# of the N is in mineral from and in poulty manure 70$. The volatilisation of ammonia was estimated as follows. Emission from stables: no reliable data available and therefore neglected. Emission from manure storage: 7% of total N. Emission from land spreading: a) arable land and grassland are receiving the same volume per ha. k.

29
b) half of the cattle manure is produced in the stable the other half during grazing. - arable land: 20% of mineral N. - grassland: grazing period: 40J6 of total N in urine and 3% of total N in faeces. land spreading: Summer (1/3 of the area) 50# of mineral N. Best of the year 32% of mineral N. In a special study, made in charge of the Dutch government a yearly deposition of acids and acidifying compounds was calculated as summarised in table I. Table I. Deposition of acid and acidifying compounds 1) in molequivalents per ha per year in the Netherlands in the period round 1980.

so2
wet deposition dry deposition Total
in %

NO

NH

+ NH^ 790 1150 1940 32

Total 2100 3900 6000 100

890 i860 2750 46

420 890 1310 22

1) Supposed is that all compounds are converted into acids.

This table shows that one third of the acids is coining from ammonia. That means mainly from animal production. Of the total deposition one third is wet and two thirds are dry deposition. 5. NOT JUST A DUTCH PROBLEM It is well known that animal production in the Netherlands has a high stocking rate. So it is not a surprise that the problems related with high ammonia emissions get much attention in our country. Ammonia is evaporated from animal manure in the stable, in the storage and during and after landspreading. The amount of ammonia lost from the manure depends on many factors as: - NH-i concentration in the manure. dry matter content. temperature. storage time. contact surface between manure and the air. This last factor explains why the main losses ocaur after landspreading. After spreading on arable land this losses can be restricted by ploughing as soon as possible or by injection.

- Pr
-

30
Qn grassland this is not possible, moreover during the grazing season the droppings are exposed many days to high temperatures. One can estimate that there is a fair good correlation between N produced in animal manure and the ammonia emission. As the production of cattle slurry is linked with grassland and in many regions the main part of the manure from pigs and poultry is spread on arable land, there is a risk for underestimating the ammonia emissions from cattle slurry. In table II an estimate is made of the total production of mineral N in animal manure in the Netherlands. Table II. Amount of mineral N in tons/year produced in animal manure in the Netherlands in 198a. Manure Product ion 1000 tons y ear Cattle Veal Calfs Sows Pigs Layers Broilers 67000 17700 6000 8600 3000 1 ) 280 2) N contant kg/ton 4.4 3.0 3-9 5-5 9.2 26 Mi neral N Mineral N tons year 147400 4080 11700 23650 19320 5076 211226 1) Supposed is that all the manure from layers is produced as a slurry with + 14# dry matter. 2) A solid manure with + 60$ dry matter.

%
50 80 50 50 70 70

From this table it can be concluded that even in the Netherlands, with a relative high stocking rate for pigs and poultry, more than two thirds of the mineral N is produced by cattle. Moreover the volatilisation of ammonia from grassland is supposed to be higher than from arable land. In report Nr. 48 in the CEC series "Information on Agriculture" (6) the stocking-rate in different regions of the EC is calculated. From the maps in this report the regions with a possibly high ammonia volatilization can be indicated. It stands to reason that the highest risks ocour in regions where a high cattle density coincides with a large number of pigs and poultry. In a region with 3 cows/ha the N production in manure is i 250 kg/ha. If half of the mineral N is lost this means an emission of 60 kg N/ha. This is equal to the deposition in woodlands reported by

31
van Breemen. 6. WHY A COMBINATION OF ODOUR - MEASUREMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF AMMONIA VOLATILIZATION? Most information on ammonia losses is coming from fertilizer experiments. In calculating N-balances,losses of N can be considered as caused by volatilization of ammonia or by denitrification. This method for determination of ammonia losses is inaccurate and gives no information on the factors playing a role in this proces. Specialists in odour measurement techniques have the tools for a much more accurate measurement. In determining the losses over short periods they can look for correlations with the circumstances. This is the first step in controling this ammonia losses. In general I should like to plead for an integration of research on ammonia volatilization and odour research. In many cases odour control can be combined with reduction of ammonia losses. This is for instance the case with storage systems, ventilation systems, bio-filters or air scrubbers and injection of slurry. This double effect gives more possibilities to make the cost of control paying. On the other hand there is sometimes the risk that odour reduction increases the volatilization of ammonia. This can be the case with under cage drying of poultry manure or with anaerobic digestion of liquid manure. In this situations we should balance the positive effects of odour control against the negative effects of ammonia emissions. 7. AIMS OF THE MEASUREMENT OF AMMONIA VOLATILIZATION a)Inventory of ammonia losses from animal production. The inventory made by Buijsman in the Netherlands should be caracterised as a quite rough estimate. This is demonstrated by the assumptions on which he based his calculations. For instance he neglected the emission from stables for laek of reliable data. If the Government wants to reduce the acid precipitation, there will be paid attention to ammonia. As it is released from ground level sources reduction of ammonia emission has more effect on acid deposition in the region than in the case with' SO, and NO . To take efficient measures reliable information about the main sources should be available. b) Determination of the correlation between ammonia losses and circumstances on the farm. There are theoretical models, which describe the influence of the main factors on ammonia evaporation. However little is known about the relevant conditions in the stable or the storage pit and in the field. To give good advise to the farmer about his means to reduce ammonia emission this knowledge is necessary. For instance what is the effect of covering the manure pit and what are the losses after landspreading on a frozen field. ses.' c) Measurement of the effects of new techniques on ammonia los-

I gave some examples of a positive effect of odour control on ammonia losses. There are more activities that can have an influence like housing system, manure treatment or grazing system.

32
In future in developing this techniques, ammonia losses should be taken into consideration. d) Studying the spreading and deposition of ammonia. High concentrations of ammonia in the air may cause direct damage to crops. In the Netherlands different cases of damage to horticulture crops or treenurseries are reported. This form of damage occurs at distances of maximal 300 m. If a livestock farm is situated in an agricultural region the part of the ammonia deposed in this region does not do any harm. It has the effect of a fertilizer and the acidification i6 easaly corrected by liming. Little is known however at what distance of the sources deposition of ammonia may be expected. There excist models describing the dispersion of airpollutants, but this models neglect deposition of the pollutant. Moreover there do not excist models predicting the deposition to be expected from a certain emission. In other words we do not know in how far it is possible to protect area's by reducing the emission from neighbouring sources. REFERENCES (1) KOWALEWSKY, H.H., R. SCHEU and H. VETTER. I98O. Measurement of odour emissions and im-missions. In: J.K.R. GASSER (editor). Effluents from livestock. Apple. Sc. Publ. (2) LOGTENBERG, M. Th. 1975- Het ontwikkelen van meetmethoden voor het bepalen van de stank van ventilatielucht van varkensBtallen. CTI - TNO Apeldoorn NL. ref. no - 75 - 05^62. (3) HARREVELD, A. Ph. van. 1981. Rapportage geurverspreidingsonderzoek bij het compostbedrijf van de Cooperatieve Nederlandse Champignonkwekersvereniging B.V. te Ottersum. I.M.A.G. rapport no. 30. C O BREEMEN, N. van. 1982. Soil acidification from atmospheric ammonium sulphate in forest canopy throughfall. Nature Volume 299, October 1982. (5) BUIJSMAN, E. 1983. Ammoniak-emissie in Nederland. Instituut voor Meteorologie en Oceanografie Rijksuniversiteit - Utrecht. Rapport V - 83 - 3. (6) Commission of the European Communities. 1978. The spreading of animal excrement on utilized agricultural areas of the Community. Report Nr. h& Aug. 1978.

33
AMMOHIA LOSS FROM GRASSLAND SYSTEMS J. C. RYDEN The Animal and Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, SL6 5LR, U.K. Summary A large proportion of the input of nitrogen (N) that remains unaccounted for during livestock production (up to 90$ in grassland systems) is lost through volatilisation of ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere. Such loss of N has important economic and environmental implications. Particular problems are presented when measuring NH3 loss due to the reactivity of the gas and the dependence of loss on environmental conditions. Unequivocal measurements are obtained only when a micrometeorological method is used. However, recent studies have shown that enclosures suited to experiments using small plots can be designed and operated to have negligible effects on NH3 loss. These enclosures may also be useful in studies of odour emission, a process dependent on factors similar to those affecting NH3 loss. Findings in recent studies of NH3 loss from grassland systems are discussed. These reveal losses of 20 to 30$ of the N input during grazing or following land application of slurry. Significant losses of NH3 from winter-housed cattle have also been measured. Methods of reducing NH3 loss, including injection of slurry and the role of zeolites, are discussed.

1.

INTRODUCTION Consideration of the nitrogen (N) balance during livestock production reveals a large difference between the input of N and its output in animal products (1,2). For example, ruminants excrete between 75 and 95$ of the N ingested (3). Much of the N not accounted for in input-output relationships of this type is lost from the soil-plantanimal system, particularly when intensively managed. Loss of ammonia (NH3) through volatilisation to the atmosphere is expected to be a major, if not the most important pathway of N loss during livestock production. Apart from the economic significance of such loss there are potentially adverse effects on the environment arising from acidification of rain and soil. Ammonia may react with hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere to produce N 0 X contributing to the acidification of rain (U). Wet and dry deposition of NH3/NHi,+ inevitably contributes to soil acidification through their subsequent nitrification. This effect can be accentuated in woodland by absorption of aerosols containing NH^ within the canopy followed by transport to the soil in stem flow (5). In more extreme cases, NH3 emission from feedlots, pig and poultry units may contribute to eutrophication of surface waters in the locality (6). There is some evidence to suggest that NH3 is a useful marker for odour emission (7). This is to be expected as odourous components are in many cases water miscible volatiles that are released under conditions

34
similar to those favouring NH3 loss. Although odours cause immediate environmental problems, I concur with Voorburg (8) that longer term and more damaging environmental effects may be associated with NH3 loss. The purpose of this paper is to outline the types of methods suited to studies of NH3 loss (and possibly odour emission). Findings in recent studies of NH3 loss at The Animal and Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, will be discussed as will possible methods to reduce such loss. METHODS FOR MEASURING LOSSES OF AMMONIA THROUGH VOLATILISATION Methods suitable for field studies of ammonia loss fall into two basic categories: (i) Those in which the loss is calculated from changes in NH3 concentration within covers or enclosures placed over the surface of interest (e.g. refs 9,10). (ii) Those in which the loss is determined from micrometeorological measurements and concentrations of ammonia in air above the land surface. Although the use of enclosures is conceptually the simplest approach, some particular problems arise in their use in studies of NH3 loss. These are associated with the chemical reactivity of the gas, particularly its reactivity with water, and to the strong influence of environmental factors on the volatilization process (11). Matching conditions within the enclosure to those prevailing outside is a difficult task and much of the data obtained using enclosures is open to question. However, the problems associated with enclosures can be overcome if the air speed through the enclosure is controllable to within the same range as that of wind speed at the experimental site (9,12). Methods based on micrometeorological measurements are to be preferred in principle. They do not disturb the environmental parameters or processes which influence gas exchange. Furthermore, they allow continuous measurement and integrate the flux over a large area, thereby facilitating studies in grazed swards in which NH3 loss arises from a heterogeneous distribution of dung- and urine-affected areas. The difficulties of many micrometeorological techniques lie in the requirement of a large experimental area, thermal stability and in some cases rapid measurements of small gas concentrations. The recently proposed mass balance method (13 ,lU) overcomes many of these difficulties and for the first time permits routine measurement of NH3 loss within the context of a nitrogen balance study (15,16). Methods used in studies of NH3 loss at AGRI, Hurley, involve the micrometeorological mass balance method for studies in grazed swards and a system of wind tunnels for small field plots to which specific treatments have been applied (e.g., slurry or urine). In the mass balance method, NH3 loss is calculated from measurements of (i) wind speed to a height of 3 m (ii) wind direction and (iii) the NH3 concentration profile in air windward and leeward of a treated area. The method has been successfully applied in studies in which the distance between the windward and leeward sampling positions has been as little as 10 m and the sampling time as great as 2k h (17). In the system of wind tunnels, each consists of a transparent polycarbonate sheet, bent to form the tunnel per se and pinned to the ground to cover an area of 0.5 x 2 m with a maximum height of 1(5 cm (9). A high capacity fan and van anemometer are mounted in steel ducting connected to one end of the tunnel. The fan and anemometer allows air to be drawn through the tunnel at continuously recorded speeds up to 1(.5 ms~l, i.e. in the same range as wind 2.

35
speeds prevailing at the site. The concentrations of NH3 in air entering and leaving the tunnel are determined and used in the calculation of NH3 loss. In preliminary studies, the reliability of measurements of NH3 loss provided by the tunnels was assessed by comparing the measured rates of NH3 loss with those observed using the mass balance method. A circular plot (10 m radius) was established on a ryegrass sward to which urea fertilizer was applied at a rate of 200 kg N ha~l. The equipment for the mass balance method was erected at the centre of the plot thereby providing a fetch of 10 m regardless of wind direction. The tunnels were positioned on the windward edge of the plot, their axes aligned on its radius thereby ensuring that air drawn through the tunnels had not passed over the area treated with urea. When the air speed through the tunnels was matched as closely as possible with the prevailing wind speed outside, rates of NH3 loss provided by the two methods were not significantly different (Fig. 1 ) . Regimes of temperature and relative humidity inside the tunnels were also similar to those outside (9,12). When the air speed through the tunnels deviated by more than about 20i( from the prevailing wind speed, rates of NH3 loss determined using the two methods differed substantially even though regimes of temperature and relative humidity remained largely unaffected. The data in Fig. I indicate that enclosures can be designed and operated to have minimal effects on the emission of volatiles such as NH3 from the land surface. The tunnels may also represent a useful and Bimple experimental approach to the assessment of odour emission under controlled and replicated conditions. LOSS OF AMMONIA DURING LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION Ammonia may be lost from excreta either during grazing or during collection, storage and land application of slurry and manure. Approximately 80% of the N excreted by cattle is contained in urine, most of which is present as urea and results in the deposition of N at rates equivalent to 300 to 1000 kg N h a - 1 in urine-affected areas of pasture. Nitrogen in dung is present as organic compounds less readily hydrolyable than urea and mainly of bacterial origin. Although some NH3 may be lost from dung, it is urine that affords the greatest potential for loss. Nitrogen in urine is subject to almost immediate loss as NH3 which is produced in the high pH environment generated during the hydrolysis of urea. In slurry and manure, N is present largely as NHlj and more stable organic compounds derived from dung. Ammonia loss from slurry and manure probably arises from the decomposition of ammonium carbonates and bicarbonates as the land surface dries following application. 3.1. Losses of ammonia during grazing In studies of the fate of N in urine-treated areas of pasture in New Zealand, 66% of the N applied (30 to 60 g urine-N m - ^) was lost during warm dry conditions (15). Losses were lower (6 to 16%) during cooler or wetter conditions. In Queensland, Vallis et al. (10) reported a loss of lU to 28U of the N applied in urine depending on the season. A similar range in NH3 loss (12-25/f) has been reported by Sherlock and Goh (18) following application of urine (50 g N m~2) to a ryegrass-clover sward. Recent work at Hurley (19) using the system of wind tunnels described above indicated a total NH3 loss of 17 g N m~^ during 17 days from I42 g urine-N m - ^ applied to a ryegrass sward; within seven days, 92.5/t of the total loss had occurred. 3.

36

250i
I

E 200 o
CD

E 150 a> c c
CO CO

o c o E E a *o
CD CO

100

50-

DC

50 100 150 200 Rate of ammonia loss (mass balance method), mgNm- 2 !!- 1

Fig. I.

Relationship 'between concurrent measurements of the rate of ammonia loss made using the wind tunnel and micrometeorological mass balance methods during an experiment in which the mean air speed through the tunnels was adjusted to maintain a value within 20!f of the mean ambient wind speed. Rates of loss measured using the wind tunnels are the means of four replicates, the tars around each point indicating the 953S confidence limits (reproduced from ref. 12).

37
There are few data for NH3 loss from whole grazed fields. Denmead et al. (20) reported rates of NH3 loss of between 0.2 and 0.7 kg N ha lday~l from lucerne grazed by sheep (50 ewes per ha) in Australia. They estimated that the annual loss of NH3 from this pasture which fixed approximately 200 kg N ha~lyr~l was about 100 kg N ha--1-. In a later study (21), it was shown that although as much as O.O56 kg NH3-N ha h r - 1 may be produced at the base of a sward, a large proportion was re-absorbed within the standing canopy (U0 to 50 cm). This observation has obvious implications to the effect of continuous as opposed to rotational grazing on NH3 loss and to the cycling of N in grass-clover swards. Recent work in the U.K. (15,19,22) has shown that mean daily rates of NH3 loss are frequently close to or in excess of 1 kg N ha'^-day-^ in the period during and immediately following grazing within a rotational system involving yearling steers (Fig. II). The highest rates of NH3 loss were associated with high stocking densities while changes in the rate of loss following the removal of animals depended on weather conditions. For example, following the grazing period 2l*~30 May, the mean rate of NH3 loss decreased as the soil surface dried (evapotranspiration greatly exceed precipitation). However, in the third week following the removal of animals, the rate of NH3 loss increased to 0.8 kg N ha - 1 day _ 1 in response to the wetting and drying cycles imposed by increased rainfall. A similar effect was probably important during the period 21-27 June and in the week following the grazing between 2-9 August. The dependence of high rates of NH3 loss on cyclical wetting and drying is in agreement with findings in laboratory studies. More NH3 was lost from urea applied to wet soil as it dried than when the soil was maintained at a constant water content (23). The use of mean values in Fig. II masks the day to day change in the rate of NH3 loss, particularly as it was affected by specific rainfall events. For example, during the period 2U to 26 June in which 39 mm rain were recorded, the rate of NH3 loss decreased from k.2 to 0.05 kg N ha-1day~-1-. Within two days, however, the rate of loss had increased to 1.3 kg N ha'^-day-1. The importance of drying in promoting further NH3 loss after rainfall is illustrated by the pattern of loss observed during September/October. During this period, rainfall exceeded potential evapotranspiration by 123 mm and rate of NH3 loss never exceeded 0.2 kg N ha - 1 day - l. Ammonia loss ceased in the third week after grazing following further rainfall. The pattern of NH3 loss from a urine-treated sward (15,19) is markedly different to that from a grazed field (Fig. II). Loss of NH3 was largely complete within seven days of urine application. In contrast, losses from the grazed plot continued at rates in excess of 0.2 kg N ha'-May--1- for two to three weeks following the removal of animals. As much as 16 to 1 ) 7 per cent of the loss during each It-week period occurred during weeks 3 and It. This pattern of loss suggests that sources other than urine contributed to the loss of N from the grazed sward. The origin of this loss is as yet unexplained, but it is possibly associated with dung-affected areas of the sward. 3.2. Losses of ammonia associated with winter-housed stock Ammonia may be produced and lost between deposition and collection of excreta in winter housing, during its storage and following land application. The treatment of excreta from winter-housed stock as a waste disposal problem rather than a fertilizer resource results in substantial loss of N as NH3.

38

Fig. II.

Mean values during weekly intervals of the rate of ammonia loss from a grazed ryegrass sward receiving 1*20 kg N ha yr and the corresponding values for accumulated rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. The swards were grazed by yearling steers within a 28-day rotation. The numbered bars indicate each grazing period and the actual stocking rate (steers per ha) during that period.

39
Loss of NH3 from housed dairy cows has been estimated from measurements of N content in fresh excreta and that in the material scraped from the alleys (2k). The results of this study indicated that N losses were in the range 1 to 5$ when the average daily air temperature was below 5C. When air temperatures were in the range 15 to 25C, losses increased to between 15 and 50$. Recently, NH3 loss from the winterhoused dairy herd at Hurley has been estimated by direct measurement of the air flow into and NH3 concentrations in air within the cubical house the alleys of which are scraped on average once every three hours. Daily losses of NH3 ranged from 0.3 to 2.6 kg N during January and February, 1985. Losses were greatest on windy days when the house was well ventilated; losses were also greater when air temperatures exceeded 5C. The losses of N as NH3 were equivalent to 1.1* to 11.8!* of the daily input of N in feed or 1.6 to ll*.l$ of the N estimated to have been excreted by the cows. Little is known about the importance of NH3 loss during storage of slurry and manure. Estimates place this loss at 10 to 20$ of the N entering the store (25). Losses are almost certain to be greater from stores with a large surface area to volume ratio. Mixing is also expected to increase loss. Loss of NH3 associated with land application of slurry has been assessed from measurements of the content of inorganic N in soil before and following the application of slurry (e.g., ref. 26). Losses between 20 and 60% of the N applied have been inferred. There are few direct measurements of NH3 loss from slurry. Beauchamp et al. (27) have measured a NH3 loss equivalent to 20$ of the N applied during the week following a surface application of dairy-shed slurry (325 kg N ha--*-) to fallow soil in eastern Canada. The total loss of NH3 was probably substantially higher as it was continuing at rates between 0.3 and 0.7 kg N ha~lhr~l when measurements were terminated. Rates of loss as high as 2.9 kg N ha-lhr~l were observed during warm dry periods. More significant, however, was the fact that NH3 continued to be lost at rates up to 0.3 kg N ha~^hr~l in cold wet weather, conditions that are usually assumed to minimise NH3 loss. Nevertheless, the generally higher efficiency of slurry N following application in late winter and early spring can probably be attributed to reduced NH3 loss particularly when application occurs during periods of frequent rain. In recent work at Hurley (28), NH3 loss was measured after surface application or injection of cattle slurry during warm dry weather in late spring. Following the surface application, NH3 loss amounted to 17)1 of the total N applied (100 kg h a " M or approximately 1*5$ of the inorganic N content of the slurry. More than 95$ of the total loss occurred within two days of application. A loss of < 2$ was observed for the injected treatment. A similar loss of N (approximately 30$ of that applied) has been observed following surface application of slurry containing 220 kg N h a - 1 in cool moist weather in December when the soil was at field capacity. Although lower daily rates of NH3 loss were observed at this time, loss extended over a longer period following application. Observations in the field suggest that the more extended period of NH3 loss arose from restricted infiltration of slurry following the winter application.

40
CONTROL OF AMMONIA LOSS Control of HH3 loss during grassland production presents many problems. The most readily manipulated loss is that arising from land application of slurry. Injection effectively eliminates NH3 loss, as discussed above, and is sometimes reflected in increased efficiency of utilisation of the N applied (29). On grass/arable farms, application of slurry prior to ploughing or cultivation also increases N recovery by the following crop. However, the speed with which NH3 loss can occur requires that cultivation takes place almost immediately after application (29). Reduction of NH3 loss from grazed swards presents more daunting problems. In rotational systems, swards could be irrigated following each grazing to wash urea and ammonium-N into the base of the sward thereby increasing contact with the surface soil. More N is likely to be retained as wet soil restricts NH3 loss and there will be increased contact between ammonium ions and sites of cation exchange (11). Furthermore, subsequent loss of NH3 as the soil dries may be attenuated by re-absorption in the plant canopy (21). Re-absorption of NH3 within the canopy may also be important in reducing NH3 loss from continuously as opposed to rotationally grazed swards in which the height of the canopy is reduced to no more than a few centimeters during each grazing interval. The latter is also expected to accelerate NH3 loss by decreasing the height of the boundary layer thereby increasing exchange near the base of the sward where NH3 is produced. Control of NH3 loss arising from winter-housed stock presents similarly difficult problems. Increased frequency of scraping and reduced ventilation are expected to restrict such loss. The use of chopped straw or other carbonaceous bedding may also reduce loss by increasing immobilisation of NH!j+ as it forms. Losses of NH3 from slurry stores will be minimized when the surface area to volume ratio is low. Covering the store may also assist in reducing loss. A novel and potentially effective strategy to reduce NH3 loss is by introducing natural or synthetic zeolites into the production system. Zeolites have a high cation-exchange capacity and readily absorb ammonium ions. In a laboratory study, addition of the zeolite clinoptilorite to soil at a rate equivalent to 10 t ha--'- reduced NH3 loss by 70 to 80? following application of a urea solution (30). Similar results have been obtained in field studies. Zeolites have been similarly effective in removing NH1,+ from sewage effluents, absorbing NH3 during gasification of coal and in removing NH3 from air in battery houses (31). Zeolites would be most effectively introduced by their addition to winter feed and by incorporation into bedding. In this way, NH3 will be mineral bound to a greater or lesser extent throughout the production, storage and land application of slurry. In the longer term, accumulation of zeolite in the surface soil will increase its cation-exchange capacity and may reduce NH3 loss from urine-affected areas of grazed swards. It.

41
REFERENCES (1) (2) BLAXTER, K. (1980). Soils plants and animals Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Annual Report No. 50, 1979-80, 138-157. VAN DER MEER, H. G. (1983). Effective use of nitrogen on grassland farms. In: Corrall, A. J. (ed.) Efficient Grassland Farming. Proceedings of 9th General Meeting of European Grassland Federation (Reading), 61-68. Hurley, The British Grassland Society. HENZELL, E. F. and ROSS, P. J. (1973). The nitrogen cycle of pasture ecosystems. In: Butler, G. W. and Bailey, R. W. (eds). Chemistry and Biochemistry of Herbage, Volume 2, 227-2U6. London, Academic Press. GALBALLY, I. E. and ROY, C. R.(l983). The fate of nitrogen compounds in the atmosphere. In: Freney, J. R. and Simpson, J. R. (eds). Gaseous Losses of Nitrogen from Plant-Soil Systems, 265-28U. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff/Dr Junk. VAN BREEMAN, N., BURROUGH, P. A., VELTHORST, E. J., et al. (1982). Soil acidification from atmospheric ammonium sulphate in forest canopy through fall. Nature, 299, 5>8-550. HUTCHINSON, G. L. and VIETS, F. G.(l969). Nitrogen enrichment of surface water by absorption of ammonia volatilized from cattle feedlots. Science 166, 51I1-515. KOWALEWSKY, H. H., SCHEU, R. andVETTER, H. (1980). Measurement of odour emissions and imissions. In: Gasser, J. K. R. (ed.). Effluents from Livestock, 609-626. London, Applied Science Publishers. V00RBURG, J. H. (1985). Odour research and ammonia volatilisation. This volume. LOCKYER, D. R. (I98U). A system for the measurement of field losses of ammonia through volatilisation. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 35, 83T-8U8. VALLIS, I., HARPER, L. A., CATCHPOOLE, V. R., and WEIER, K. L. (1982). Volatilisation of ammonia from urine patches in a subtropical pasture. Australian Journal Agricultural Research 33, 97-107. FRENEY, J. R., SIMPSON, J. R. and DENMEAD, 0. T. (1983). Volatilisation of ammonia. In: Freney, J. R. and Simpson, J. R. (eds), Gaseous Loss of Nitrogen from Soil-Plant Systems, 1-32. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk. RYDEN, J. C. and LOCKYER, D. R. (1985). Evaluation of a system of wind tunnels for field studies of ammonia loss from grassland through volatilisation. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 36 (in press). DENMEAD, 0. T., SIMPSON, J. R. and FRENEY, J. R. (1977). Direct field measurement of ammonia emission after injection of anhydrous ammonia. Soil Science Society of America Journal Ul, 1001-100U. DENMEAD, 0. T. (1983). Micrometeorological methods for measuring gaseous losses of nitrogen in the field. In: Frney, J. R. and Simpson, J. R. (eds). Gaseous loss of nitrogen from soil-plant systems, 133-157, The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff/Dr Junk.

(3)

(U)

(5) (6) (7)

(8) (9) (10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(lU)

42
(15) BALL, P. R. and RYDEN, J. C. (1984). Nitrogen relationships in intensively managed temperate grassland. Plant and Soil 76, 23-33. (16) RYDEN, J. C. (198U). The flow of nitrogen in grassland. Proceedings of the Fertiliser Society, London, No. 229, PP- kk. (17) RYDEN, J . C. and McNEILL, J . E. (1984). A p p l i c a t i o n of t h e m i c r o meorological mass balance method t o t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of ammonia l o s s from a grazed sward. J o u r n a l of t h e Science of Food and A g r i c u l t u r e 3 5 , 1297-1310. (18) SHERLOCK, R. R. and GOH, K. M. (198^). Dynamics of ammonia volatilisation from simulated urine patches and aqueous urea applied to pasture. I. Field experiments. Fertilizer Research 5, 181-196. (19) RYDEN, J. C , LOCKYER, D. R. and BRISTOW, A. W. (1984). Circulation of mineral elements within the environment of forage plants. Nitrogen. Annual Report 1983-1981*, Hurley, The Grassland Research Institute. (20) DENMEAD, 0. T. , SIMPSON, J. R. (1971*). Ammonia flux into the atmosphere from a grazed pasture. Science, 185> 609-6IO. (21) DENMEAD, 0. T., FRENEY, J. R. and SIMPSON, J. R. (19T6). A closed ammonia cycle within a plant canopy. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 8, l6l-l61t. (22) RYDEN, J. C , LOCKYER, D. R. and BRISTOW, A. W. (1983). Circulation of mineral elements within the environment of forage plants. Gaseous nitrogen losses from grassland soils. Annual Report 1982, 25 _ 32, Hurley, The Grassland Research Institute. (23) ERNST, J. W. and MASSEY, H. F. (i960). The effects of several factors on volatilisation of ammonia formed from urea in the soil. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 2k, 87-90. (2k) MUCK, R. E. and RICHARDS, B. K. (1983). Losses of manurial n i t r o g e n i n f r e e - s t a l l b a r n s . A g r i c u l t u r a l Wastes 7 , 65-79(25) GOSTICK, K. G. (1982). Recommendations t o farmers on manure d i s p o s a l and r e c y c l i n g . P h i l o s o p h i c a l T r a n s a c t i o n s of t h e Royal S o c i e t y , London B296, 329-332. (26) LAUER, D. A . , BOULDIN, D. R. and KLAUSNER, S. D. (1976). Ammonia v o l a t i l i s a t i o n from d a i r y manure spread on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . J o u r n a l of Environmental Q u a l i t y 5 , 134-1 4 1. (27) BEAUCHAMP, E. G., KIDD, G. E. and THURTELL, G. (1982). Ammonia v o l a t i l i s a t i o n from l i q u i d d a i r y c a t t l e manure i n t h e f i e l d . Canadian J o u r n a l of S o i l Science 6 2 , 11-19. (28) RYDEN, J. C. and LOCKYER, D. R. (1985). Fate of nitrogen following land application of slurry. Annual Report 1981t-85, Hurley, The Grassland Research Institute (in press). (29) KOLENBRANDER, G. J. (1981). Effect of injection of animal waste on ammonia losses by volatilisation on arable land and grassland. In: Brogen, J. C. (ed.) Nitrogen Losses and Surface Run-off from Land Spreading of Manures, 425-430. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff/ Dr Junk. (30) RYDEN, J. C. (1984). Fertilisers for grassland. Chemistry and Industry (1984), 652-657(31) SAND, L. B. and MUMPTON, F. A. (eds). (1977). Natural Zeolites: Occurrences, Properties and Use. Oxford:Pergamon Press.

SESSION I : OLFACTOMETRY EEC - GROUP

Sampling of measurement

odourous

air

for

olfactometric

Standardization of olfactometric measurements Selection and treatment of panelists determination of odor thresholds VDI guidelines on odour problems An established system threshold measurements for odour detection for

Guideline for olfactometric measurements in the Netherlands. Comparison with Western European guidelines French tentative standard X-43-101 : method of measurements of the odour of a gaseous effluent. Comments on interpretations made by Messrs HARTUNG, VOORBURG and HANGARTNER Experiences with olfactometric Norway Limitations imposed on measurements by the human factor measurements in

olfactometric

Experiences with transportable olfactometers Dispersion models agricultural sources for emissions from

Experiences with olfactometers Physical calibration measurements of olfactometric

Developments in the assessment sludges

of odours

from

Odour concentration and odour annoyance Comparison of olfactometric odour and chemical odour measurement measurement

44
SAMPLING OF ODOUROUS AIR FOR OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENT J. HARTUNG Institute for Animal Hygiene of the Hannover School of Veterinary Medicine, Bunteweg 17p, 3000 Hannover 71, FRG

Summary Both static and dynamic sampling procedures are used for olfactometric measurements. Care must be taken inorder to obtain a representative sample and to minimize sample losses due to condensation, adsorption and permeation, when using static sampling methods, particularly. Teflon or Tedlar bags and inert tubing materials help to diminish adsorption and desorption problems. Condensation can be avoided by heating the sampling tubes or by prediluting the sample with pure, odour-free air. Within the EEC guide lines exist for odour measurement in The Netherlands, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The usefulness of dynamic sampling is agreed on. The opinions differ as far as static sampling is concerned. It seems that both sampling methods can be applied successfully for olfactometr y measurements. However, it is necessary to define the details of the procedures aiming at a standardization of sampling which might be the first step for a harmonization of olfactometric measurements in the laboratories of the different countries.

1. INTRODUCTION The method of measuring odour sensorily in general can be devided into the following basic steps ( 1 ) : - sample collection - sample dilution and presentation - indication of response - interpretation of response Due to the fact that many different testing procedures exist in the different laboratories, results can only be compared when knowing exactly - the conditions and procedures for sampling of the air to be i nvesti gated, - the design and function of the olfactometric apparatus, and - the physiological and physical status of the panel. The olfactometric apparatus and the panel are in close connection with each other as shown in Table I whereas the sampling procedure is more or less apart from the apparatus and the panel and affects the olfactometric inlet, only. However, sample collection is the first step and can influence the results considerably; thus, valid sampling is the base for valid

45
measurements. This paper is confined to the different forms of sampling odourous gases for olfactometric measurements and the problems involved. It refers to existing guidelines for olfactometric measurements in the countries of the EEC, as well. 2. TYPES OF SAMPLING Samples of odourous gas may be collected in unconcentrated or concentrated form. Concentrated sampling is usually necessary when gas chromatography or other chemical analytical methods are to be used. Unconcentrated sampling is provided if odour threshold concentrations are required ( 2 ) . Depending on the type of olfactometer used dynamic sampling or static sampling are provided. The principle of dynamic sampling is shown in Figure 1. It requires a part-flow of the odourous gas to be continoulsy extracted from the source and subsequently directed to the olfactometer. This sampling method implies that the measurements are carried out close to the source. An advantage of the method is that there is the possibility of controlling a process, directly, and in case of the break-down of the process this can be noticed right away. A disadvantage of the dynamic method is that odour sources that are not readily accessible require a relatively great effort in order to install the olfactometer and suitable sampling pipes which often should be insulated or heated to avoid adsorption or condensation ( 3 ) . When static sampling is used a partial stream of the odourous air is collected in a sampling vessel. Samples are taken from this vessel or bag to dilute the odourous air for the olfactometer using syringes or on-line tubings. When using this method odour measurement with the panel can be carried out at any arbitrary location, if the vessel is a transportable one. An example for static sampling is given in Figure 2. 3. PROBLEMS OF SAMPLING The main problems encountered when sampling odourous air derive from surface effects of the sampling tubes and vessels, namely by - adsorption, - desorption, and - condensation. This depends mainly on the material of the tube, the vessel or the bag (adsorption) or on the nature of the gas, whether it is hot and/or containes a high amount of humidity (condensation). On the other hand the sample can be altered by trace components bleeding from the material of the walls of the vessel or the tube (desorption). The following factors are to be observed for valid static sampling. a^_Choi_c\e of_inateri aj_ For tTTe sampling of odourous gases glas vessels, stainless steel tanks (4) and flexible plastic bags (5) were tested. The initial concentrations of the test gases decrease considerably with storage time in glass and steel vessels. In recent years bags made of Polyethylene(6), Teflon (3) and Tedlar ( 7 ) , (8) were usually used. Figure 3 shows a graph from SCHUETZLE

46
et al. (8) indicating the good properties of Tedlar. ROOS et al . (3) point out that when Tedlar bags are used decreases in concentration up to 60 and 70% are observed with aromatic compounds. These authors prefer Teflon FEP-bags and report on comparable results between dynamic sampling and static Teflon FEPbag sampling, as shown in Table II. Assuming that adsorption and desorption effects are minimized by the choice of material, reactions between compounds in the gas phase can not be excluded, b. The prevention of conde nsat ion ContTensatTon can Fe avoTded by the predilution of the sample by dry, odour-free air. It is important to know in which ratio the sample is diluted for odour unit or odour threshold determi nation, c. 0ther factors of importance wKen performing vesseT/Fag sampling: - permeability of the vessel/bag (% of losses), ( 9 ) , - sampling time (moment value, or time integral), - transport and storage time, - sampling volume (sufficient for repeated measurements), - preflushing (to minimize the self-odour of the bag, (6),and - the dust problem (heated dustfilter), (10). Recently WAUTERS et al. (9) used a large handpump in connection with Rilsan and Tedlar bags. This set-up allows the sampling of one liter per second. This method is very suitable for sampling in the field, independent from any power supply. They found diffusions from the bags to be about 2% in 24 h.The diffusion from the Tedlar bag was slightly lower than from the Rilsan bag. The humidity in the bags remained unchanged over a long period of time. Changing the humidity in all previous tests from 70% to 100% had no effect to the results. Testing the storage stability of 25 compounds in different storage conditions (clear place resp. dark place at room temperature, cool dark place) it was shown that the greatest decrease in concentration took place during the first 24 h. Tedlar bags seemed to show higher recovery rates than Rilsan bags. The compound concentrations in these experiments were determined by gas chromatography, (9). Using dynamic sampling short and inert sampling tubes made from glas or teflon snould be provided to prevent surface effects. Insulating and/or heating of the sampling tubes or diluting the gas sample with dry, odour-free air will avoid condensation . The use of the dynamic or static sampling procedure depends not only on the type of the olfactometer used (mobile or stationary) but also on the field of application, and on the expenses (11). In industry dynamic sampling and mobile olfactometers are preferred (10). However, practical limitations often mean that the analysis will be conductedin a laboratory which implies static sampling (12). In agriculture mobile "sniffcars" and large panels are usually too expensive. Therefore simple measuring devices like the Mannebeck-01factometer TO 4 were introduced (13).

47
4. R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S FOR SAMPLING AS D E S C R I B E D BY G U I D E L I N E S Four g u i d e l i n e s exist in the states of the EEC concerning odour: - The Netherland s: Geur norme ri ng - Odour standard (1983) Norm e exp erime ntale X43-101 - Experimental - France: stan d a r d , 1st draft, (1982) - Germany: V D I - Guide 1 i ne3881, part 2, draft (1984) Odou r con trol - a c o n c i s e guide (Warren - U.K.: Spri n g s , 1980) Only the g uideli ne of W arren Spri n g s , U . K . , and the V D I - G u i d e 1 i ne conta in det ailed d escri pti on s of the sampling p r o c e d u r e . Conce rni ng both dy_namic and static sampling there is an agree ment to avo id adso rptio n and c o n d e n s a t i o n By insulating and h eati n g the inlet t ubes, and by p r e d i l u t i n g the sample with dry o dour- free a ir when bag or ve ssel sampling is used. D e s o r p tion probl ems ca n be mi nimi zed by p r e f l u s h i n g . Inert m a t e r i a l s have to be u s e d , o n l y . The s torag e time of the sample in bags shoul d be as sho rt as p ossi ble. I f required dust filters can be pr ovide d to p revent a con tami nation of the o l f a c t o m e t e r by dust. The m ost d etai 1 ed de sskrip tion of sampl i ng is given in the Germa n VDI Guid el i ne 3881 . The recomme ndati ons do not prefer a certa i n techni q ue bu t ace ept d i fferent tech ni ques if they meet the r equi r ement s to preve nt co ndensati on, a dsorpti on, influences of t he du s t , a nd de sorpt ion of o dorou s compo unds from the s ampl i ng sy stem, The guide line poi nts o ut that these imcessary, be s ettled i n prelimiporta nt pr obi em s sho uld, i f ne e includ es th e descr iption of a nary exper iment s. Th e gui del i n qui pm ent t dilut ion e o avo id co ndensati on. F igure 4 shows the forms of s tatic samp 1 i ng gi ven i n the Guide line. The W arren Spri ngs, U.K. guide gi ves a full d escri pti on of th e rec ommen ded s ampl ing pr ocedure and pparatu s, as shown in Fi gure 5. Te dlar bags of a capaci ty of 0-50 1 are used.The ubes ex cept for the bags are i ntrod uced i n a 60 1 carboy. All de of me tal onsi st of PTFE inunder press ure t ube w hich i s ma cl udi ng th e val ves A sma 11 ba ttery-op erate d pump is used to iti ally collapsed evacu ate t he co ntai ner, w hich allows t he i n Tedla r-bag to i nflat e (14 ). 5. FI NAL REMARKS Both dynamic and static sampling procedures are suitable for taking samples for olfactometric measurements (15), (16). If the olfactometer and the panel are available close to the source dynamic sampling may be preferred. The equipment for preventing condensation in the sampling pipe and contamination of the sampling pipe and the olfactometer by dust should be provi ded. Static sampling may be used at sources of odour that are not readily accessible or where the odour concentrations are changing quickly or because of expenses. When using static sampling the most important requirements are to avoid losses of sample-born compounds by adsorption and condensation and the contamination of the sample by impurities desorbing from the sampling and storing divice. Interaction of the compounds in the sample during storage can be minimized by keeping the time

48
of s t o r a g e as s h o r t as p o s s i b l e , o n l y ; 24 h s h o u l d not be e x ceeded. Table I I I c o m p r i s e s t h e most i m p o r t a n t c r i t e r i a f o r v a l i d s t a t i c and dynamic s a m p l i n g . I t seems t h a t both t h e g u i d e of Warren S p r i n g s , U.K. and t h e V D I - G u i d e l i n e m i g h t be a u s e f u l base t o d e s c r i b e commonly accepted s a m p l i n g p r o c e d u r e s a i m i n g at a s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n o f s a m p l i n g which m i g h t be a f i r s t s t e p f o r a h a r m o n i z a t i o n o f o l f a c t o m e t r i c measurements i n t h e d i f f e r e n t l a b o r a t o r i e s and c o u n t r i es. REFERENCES (1) BULLEY, N.R. and D. PHILLIPS (1980). Sensory evaluation of a g r i c u l t u r a l odours: A c r i t i c a l review. Can. Agric. Eng. 22, 107 - 112. (2) HENRY, J.G. and R. G E H R (1980). Odour c o n t r o l : An operator's guide. Journal W P C F 52, 2523 - 2537. (3) ROOS, C , J.A. D O N and J . SCHAEFER (1984). Characterization of odourpolluted a i r . I n : Proc.Int.Symp., Soc. Beige de F i l t r . (eds.), 25-27 April 1984, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, pp. 3 - 22. (4) BAKER, A.R. and R.C. D O E R R (1959). Methods of sampling and storage of a i r containing vapors and gases. I n t . J . A i r P o l l . 2, 142 - 158. (5) SCHUETTE, F.J. (1967). Plastic bags for c o l l e c t i o n of gas samples. Atmosph.Environm. 1, 515 - 519. (6) SCHODDER, F. (1977T. Messen von Geruchsstoffkonzentrationen, Erfassen von Geruch. Grundl. Landtechnik 27, 73 - 82. (7) CORMACK, D., T.A. DORLING and B.W7J. LYNCH (1974). Comparison of techniques f o r organoleptic odour-intensity assessment. Chem.Ind. (London) no. 2, 857 - 861. (8) SCHUETZLE, D., T . J . PRATER and S. RUDDELL (1975). Sampling and analysis of emissions from stationary sources. I . Odour and t o t a l hydrocarbons. APCA Journal 25, 925 - 932. (9) WAUTERS, E., E. WALRAVOS, E. MUYLLE and G. VERDUYN (1983). An evaluation of a f a s t sampling procedure f o r the trace analysis of v o l a t i l e organic compounds in ambient a i r . Environm.Manitor.Assessm. 3, 151-160. (10) LACHENMAYER, U. and H. KOHLER (1984). Untersuchungen zur Neuentwicklung eines Olfaktometers. Staub - Reinhalt. Luft 44, 359 - 362. (11) BERNARD, F. (1984). Simplified methods of odour measurement: Indust r i a l application and interest for administrative c o n t r o l . Proc. I n t . Symp., Soc. Beige de F i l t r . (eds.), 25 - 27 April 1984, Louvain-LaNeuve, Belgium, pp. 139 - 150. (12) GILLARD, F. (1984). Measurement of odours by dynamic olfactometry. Application to the steel and carbonization industries. Proc.Int.Symp., Soc. Beige de F i l t r . (eds.), 25 - 27 April 1984, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, pp. 53 - 86. (13) MANNEBECK, H. (1975). Tragbare Olfaktometer. VDI-Bericht 226, 103-105. (14) BEDBOROUGH, D.R. (1980). Sensory measurement of odours. I n : Odour Control - a concise guide, F.H.H. Valentin and A.A. North (eds.), Warren Springs Laboratories, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, U.K., pp. 17-30. (15) THIELE, V. (1984). Olfaktometrie an einer Emissionsquelle - Ergebnisse des VDI-Ringvergleichs. Staub - Reinhalt. Luft 44, 342 - 351. (16) DUFFEE, R.A., J.P. WAHL, W. M A R R O N E and J.S. NADERT1973). Defining and measuring objectionable odors. Internat. Pollution Eng. Congress, Philadelphia, paper no 25a, pp. 192 - 201.

49
Guidelines The Netherlands: Geurnormering Odour standard (1983). Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer, directie Lucht, Postbus 450, 2260 MB Leidschendam. France: Norme experimentale Odour standard, 1st draft (1982). Pol lution atmospheric, methode de mesurage de l'odeur d'un effluent gazeux, determination du facteur de dilution au seuil de perception X 43101. AFNOR, Tour Europe Cedex 7, 92080 Paris. Germany: VDIRichtlinie 3881 VDIGuideline 3881, part 2, draft (1984). Olfactometric method of odour threshold determination. Sampling for odour threshold determination with olfactometers. VDIKommission Reinhaltung der Luft. BeuthVerlag Gmbh, Burggrafenstrae 4 14, 1000 Berlin 30. United Kingdom: Odour Control a concise guide (1980). F.H.H. Valentin and A.A. North (eds.), Warren Spring Laboratory, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SGI 2BX.
Table!: General methodology of sensory odour measurement ample
r

response

collection dilution presentation criteria indication interpretation

- J

.. sampling olfactometric apparatus panel

Comparison of s t a t i c sampling and dynamic 1 sampling on the base of odour concentration ( o . u . / m ) from d i f f e r e n t sources (from R00S et a l . 1984 ( 3 ) . D average of 2 measurements, 2 ) * average of 3 measurements, 3)* average of 6 measurements, 4 ) - average of 8 measurements. Sample Waste gas rendering plant 1 Waste gas rendering plant 11 Waste gas cattle-fodder factory Q030mg ethyl butyrate/m1 72 mg butanol/m1 Odour concentration (au./m1) Ratio Static sampling Dynamic sampling 71.600" 28.900 5030 300 910" 75.000 20,040 5,195 335" 720" 105 0.69 1.03 1.12 0.79

Table IIl:Important criteria of static sampling Inert material of the sampling device (bags, tu bes.valves), no losses by diffusion Pret lushing Prediction equipment Volume of the sample Sampling time,pump speed Storage time(<24h) dynamic sampling Inert tube material (PTFE, stainless steel, glass) Preflushing Predllullon equipment Heated probe Dust filters

required

50

Figure 1

: Example for a dynamic sampling device (VDI Guideline 3881, part 2, draft, 1984) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sampling tube, inserted Dust filter Air inlet for predilution Sample pipe Excess gas exhaust Pipe to the olfactometer

I f

-tf-

if required

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Metal drum Tedlar bag Teflon valve Teflon tube Flexible tube

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Flow meter Air pump Battery Hygrometer Thermometer

Figure 2 : Static sampling in bags (from GILLARD 1984 (12) )

~6

40 80 120 K0 200 Ridnc* linwin bag,minutM

Figure 3 : The effect of bag materials on ethyl benzene recovery (from SCHUETZLE et al. 1975 (8) )

51

bag holder evacuated

rO-

active pumpingi

prtdiUftion with dry air

Figure 4 : Forms of static sampling (from VDI-Guideline 3881, part 2, draft, 1984) 1. Sampling tube 2. Valve 3. Bag 4. Bag holder 5. Pump 6. Active carbon filter 7. Flow meter [1 PTFE Valve Silicone Bum 1/2"PTFEConnector PTFE BackingNut \ f
'

/ PTFETube(1/2"o.d)

-Metal Tube(1A"i.d.)

=c

<

2 To Pump

,PVC Nut Two PTFE Washers

-PVF Bag

H
Vacuum Release to Prevent PVF Bag Bursting

601 Carboy

Figure

5 : Odour sampling apparatus (from WARREN SPRING, U.K. guide)

52
STANDARDIZATION OF OLFACTOMETRY MEASUREMENTS

J.H. VOORBURG Government Agricultural Wastewater Service Arnhera Netherlands

Summary Four different standards or guidelines for olfactometric measurement are compared and an inventory is made of the diffences between the olfactometers.

1. INTRODUCTION Three experimental standards for olfactometric measurement were available and are compared in this review namely from France, the F.R.G. and the Netherlands. Moreover the guide for odour measurement from the Warren Spring Laboratory is considered as a guideline. Some of the guidelines give very detailed informations (France and F.R.G.). In the Netherlands only a number of boundary conditions are published. Therefore it is not possible to compare all the details. This is also beyond the goal of this review. We want to ask attention for the need of further international standardization or harmonisaof odour measurement techniques in order to enable exchange of knowledge and experiences. This review concentrates on the olfactometer: The sampling procedures are reviewed by J. Hartung and the selection of panelist by M. Hangartner.
2 . THE OLFACTOMETER

The olfactometer is a device which dilutes odourou6 air with odour free air. This dilutions are offered to a panel in order to determine the odour threshold. There can be distinguished between static and dynamic dilution. Static olfactometers dilute by mixing known volume of two gases in the same vessel. In France they are considered as abandoned since - the consumption of considerable quantities of gas - the time needed for changes in concentrations In Germany and U.K. no choice is made between statically and dynamically diluting systems. In Japan a triangular odour bag method is used (1). This consists of three bags with non-smelling air. Odour is poured into one of the bags until a prescribed rate of dilution is achieved. Dynamic olfactometers dilute the gas by mixing known flow rates of two gases at the same outlet. The dilution factor is calculated from the flow rates.

53
To be sure the panel receives the same dilution as can been calculated from the flow rates the odourless air should be odourless and adsorbtion of odours should be prevented or minimised. In the French proposal odourless is defined as follows: a gas which every panel member invariably describes as odourless. This is air or nitrogen passed through an active carbon filter. In the German proposal it is also asked to the panel members if they can detect any odours. In all guidelines the air in the room should be as odourless as the air used for dilution. The Germans add that as far as possible room temperature and normal humidity 6hould be realised. Adsorbtion of odours can be minimised in using materials which adsorb little gas plus a design which ensures that the air streams constantly sweeps the entire device. The French proposal mentions as least adsorbent materials. - metals (stainless steel for all applications and aluminum alloys wherever the ambient environment permits) - glass - polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE). The effects of adsorbtion are also reduced by the intervals between two stimulations. The German guidelines advise an interval of 15 seconds if a sequential method is used. This means a series of dilutions commencing below the threshold in rising order. If the set of dilutions is presented in random order the interval should be 1 minute. The Dutch guidelines allow only the sequential method with increasing concentrations. In France random and sequential method is possible with intervals of 3 minutes. In Warren Spring it is the experience that more consistent results are obtained in starting from a high concentration. There should be at least one minute between each exposure. 3. THE AIR FLOW The air flow in the olfactometer is important for: - The need to realize an equilibrium between concentration and adsorbtion of gas on the walls. In the French proposal several m/s are advised. - For good mixing of the streams, in combination with the form of the tubes a violent turbulency should be realised. - To prevent inreach of clean air during inhalation. Much attention is paid to this aspect. The French proposal wants 30 - 60 1/minute. In Germany the minimum air flow is 20 1/minute and in the Netherlands 16 1/minute. In Warren Spring a transportable model and a portable model are used. The transportable model has a flow from the sniffing port of 190 1/minute and the portable of 60 1/minute. The inhalation device should be loose enough to hold overpressure during expiration below 5 millibars (France). < t . NUMBER OF TUBES (SNIFFING PORTS) France and the Netherland prescribe a forced choice technique with at least two tubes.

54
5. RANGE OF CONCENTRATIONS In the German guidelines in the series of concentrations offered two adjacent concentration point should differ by a maximum of a factor two (or 0.3 on the log scale). A minimum of five concentrations should be plotted symmetrically around the probable threshold. Some 20# of blank samples should be included at random in the series. In France the olfactometer must be adjust from a dilution factor of 10 up to 10.000 in at least two stages without a factor of more than 100 between one stage and the next. In the Netherlands no more is said than: "Dilution stages with a factor of 2 should be possible" and "at least 5 dilutions should be offered". 6. CALIBRATION As it should be taken for sure that the olfactometer gives the dilution which it is supposed to realize, it is surprising that so little is said about calibration (method and frequency). Warren Spring describes calibration with methane as a tracer gas. The same holds for cleaning the device. In France it is proposed to clean with superheated steam, followed by a test if every trace of odour is eliminated. REFERENCES 1. ANONYMUS 1982. On target values for odour control by sensory test method. Japan environment summary. Vol. 10, no: 9-

55
SELECTION AND TREATMENT OF PANELISTS FOR DETERMINATION OF ODOR THRESHOLDS M. Hangartner Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Department of Hygiene and Applied Physiology Summary In order to harmonize an odor measurement technique, national guidelines or recommendations from Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are compared with respect to selection and treatment of panelists. Different methods of mathematical treatment of threshold data are also presented.

1. IOTR0D0CTION The task of the working group "odours" in working party one of the COST 681 prograime on processing and use of sewage sludge is to give a contribution to harmonize an odor measurement technique. For this purpose the national guidelines or recommendations from Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are compared. The emphasis of this paper lies on selection and treatment of panelists for odor threshold determination. It is well known that sensitivity of men to odorants varies within a large range. By selecting the panelists at one extreme of the sensitivity distribution, the result can be falsified. However, by chosing a large number of panelists, this effect can be minimized, but this is often not suitable in practise. In the following the different recommendations are presented. Another source of variation of threshold values is the treatment of panelists, that means comfort, motivation, interaction with panelleader, adaptation etc. These effects can be reduced using a proper detection method. Finally, different methods for threshold data treatment may produce different threshold values. For comparison, the following guidelines are reviewed: Germany - VDI Guideline 3881: Olfactcmetric method of odor threshold determination, Fundamentals (Nov., 1983) France - AFNOR Standard: Air pollution - Msthod of measuring odors from gaseous effluents determination of the dilution factor of the threshold of perception (1982) Netherlands - Odor standard, Ministerie van Volkshuisevesting (1983) United Kingdom - Odor control - a concise guide prepared on behalf of the Department of the Environment Warren Spring Laboratory (1980)

56
2. GENERAL CONDITIONS OF ODOR THRESHOLD DETERMINATION 2.1 Requirements for the test area Olfactcmetric measurement should be undertaken In a room or area which is kept free from odors. There should be an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation in the test chamber, which will encourage panel members to concentrate on the testing task and not to be distracted by external stimuli. The test should be carried out at room temperature and normal humidity. 2.2 General conditions for test procedure Odor measurements must be carried out with the help of a team leader, who instructs the panelists and operates the measuring equipment. Communication between the team leader and the panel has to be kept to an absolute minimum. Because of fatigue, the duration of a test series as well as the time of the whole session should be limited. Breaks of at least the same duration as the proceeding test period should be provided. Germany Panel leader duration of test series duration of breaks time of a test period yes 15-30 min 15-30 min 300 tests/ day France yes 20 min 20 min 2 test series of 20 tests "9- 5 min Netherlands yes United Kingdom yes 15 min 30 min 2 hours

Table 1: General conditions 3. DETECTION METHODS 3.1 Presentation of odor stimulus 3.1.1 Method of limits The most used method for establishing an absolute threshold in environmental studies is the Method of Limits. In its classical form, the stimuli are presented in alternating ascending and descending series, starting at different points to avoid having the subject fall into a routine. During this procedure there is a chance that adaptation phenomena may develop. An effort to minimize these effects is for example to use only an ascending series of stimuli. The threshold value for each separate test series is defined as a point in-between the last undetected and the first detected point in the stimulus continuum. A modification of the method of limits is the "up and down" method. A stimulus is presented: if the response is positive, the next lower stimulus is presented, if it is negative, the next higher is presented and so on. The primary advantage is, that it automatically concentrates near the mean and a considerable number of observations can be saved.

57
3.1.2 Method of constant stimuli (Method of frequency) By the Method of Frequency the stimulus range is selected in discrete intervals so that the frequency of positive answers is distributed over the range between 1% and 99%. In general, the frequency of positive responses either for an individual or for a group, is cumulatively normally distributed over a geometric intensity continuum. The absolute odor threshold can then be defined as the effective dose corresponding to an arbitrarily selected frequency of positive responses, ordinarily 50% : ED..: Effective dose at the 50% level. 3.1.3 Signal detection The Signal Detection principle is a determination of the relationship between hits and false alarms. In determining signal detectability, a stimulus or a few stimuli are presented in random order, alternating with noise. Since sensory Impressions resulting from the presentation of stimulus versus noise are assumed to be normally distributed over the same intensity continuum and to have the same dispersion, the index of detectability d' for p (hits) minus p (false) indicates the extent to which the two distributions overlap. 3.2 Indication of response 3.2.1 "Yes" or "no" response In the classical evaluation yes-no answers are dependent on the subjects' honesty and motivation among other factors. However, yes-no answers may be evaluated if they are presented a sufficiently large number of times alternating with blanks. 3.2.2 forced choice technique One method of controlling response perseveration and other anticipation factors is to use a forced choice response indication based on two or more response categories. In the measurement of odors the panelist has to report the temporal position of positive stimuli in a series of random blanks. If the concentration is below the threshold, the test subjects will guess. As the odorant concentration will increase, the relative cumulative frequency for identification of the correct sample will be greater. In order to determine the relative odor recognition a correction must be made. 3.3 Size of stimulus Intervals 3.3.1 Concentration intervals In selecting the stimulus continuum in threshold determination, the relation between just noticeable difference in relation to the intensity of stimuli is of interest. In accordance with Weber's law this quotient is assumed to be a constant. Therefore it would appear best to determine absolute thresholds on an intensity continuum in the form of a geometric progression. 3.2.2 Time intervals Because of adaptation processes the exposure time until reaching a decision should be limited. Also the interval between two stimuli must be observed.

58
Germany detection method limit random/ ascend. yes/no 1.5-2 <15 sec 15 sec France limit up & down forced ch. Netherlands limit ascend. forced ch. S 2 <15 sec 1 min United Kinqdom limit random yes/no

indication of response dilution steps exposure tine stimulus interval

3
10 sec 3 min

1.6
20 sec 1 min

Table 2:Detection method, indication of response and size of stimulus intervals. 4. EVALUATION OF THRESHOLD VALUES 4.1 Definition of odor threshold By convention the individual odor threshold is that concentration which is just perceived by the subject in 50% of the cases in which it is presented to him. The group threshold is the concentration that is just perceived by 50% of the panel members. 4.2 Evaluation using the geometric mean The point of change is determined for every series of dilution evaluated. It is defined as the geometric mean of the dilution of the last negative and the first positive answer. The arithmetical mean and its standard deviation are calculated from the logarithms of the points of change. 4.3 Graphical evaluation The characteristic curve of the odor threshold is used. The relative cumulative frequency of positive answers is calculated for each odorant concentration and graphically plotted, while for odor concentration a logarithmic scale is used. The odor threshold can be obtained from the resulting curve as the 50-percentile and so can the associated 16- and 84-percentiles. 4.4 Probit analysis If the odor sensitivity is normally distributed over the logarithm of the odor concentration, the characteristic curve of the odor threshold is a gaussian curve. This curve is converted into a straight line using the probit transformation. The analyses can be carried out graphically on probability paper or by transformation of the relative cumulative frequency by using a table function and calculating the regression lines. The odor threshold and the 16- and 84-percentiles can be determined from the results.

59
Germany mathematical procedure geom.mean graphic, probitanalysis France geom.mean graphic. Netherlands gean. graphic. United Kingdom geom.mean graphic.

Table 3: Mathematical treatment of threshold data SELECTICN OF PANALISTS 5.1 Requirement for panelists Panlists are required to have the following qualities: - sensitivity: subjects with specific anosmia or hyposmia must be excluded. - physical condition: subjects whose sense of smell is temporarily impaired by desease must be excluded. - reliability: subjects must be able to reproduce accurate results consistently. - honesty: subjects must exactly say what they perceive.

Germany Sensitivity "normal" sense, age 18-50 y. quest. repeated measures with H 2 S 20% errors

France

Netherlands

United Kingdom actual odor or key comp. quest.

5 reference not too odors range good, not 1:1000 too bad

Physical condition Reliability

Honesty

Table 4: Selection of panelists Olfactory sensitivity for one individual varies about factor three due to climatological, physiological, environmental reaons etc. The sensory sensitivity also varies from odorant to odorant. So it is difficult to select a panel with a sensitivity distribution similar to that of the population. The preferred method in the United Kingdom for screening panelists uses the actual odor to be tested as a key component. In France selection is carried out on the basis of the threshold for five standard odorants. In Germany a "normal" sense of smell is requested of persons between the age of 18 and 50 years, in the Netherlands no exact specifications are given. Anyway, an extreme clustering around the mean or towards the extremes has to be avoided.

60
The physical condition is checked by the panel leader using a questionnaire or simply by asking the test persons according to the guidelines of Germany and the United Kingdom. Only the German guideline tests reliability of panel members by repeated measurements with the same odorant. Problems of honesty are minimized by forced choice technique (France, Netherlands). In the German guideline persons with more than 20% of errors in more than three test series are excluded. 5.2 Panel size The extent to which a panel constitutes a representative sample of the population depends directly on the numbers of panel members. For practical reasons a compromise must be sought between costs and the representativeness of the result, and this depends on the question to be answered: basic measurement e.g. emission standards or only comparative measurements, e.g. odor abatement efficiency. Germany basic measurements comparative measurements Table 5: Panel size. OCNCLUSICNS There is more or less agreement in all guidelines about general background conditions. The limit method is proposed as detection method in all guidelines. The indication of response is either yes/no or correct/incorrect. The latter, forced choice technique, may certainly give lower odor thresholds. The mathematical treatment of data will produce only slight differences in the threshold values. For the panel size different members are given. 8 people appears the right size for the panel. Selection of panelists is the most difficult question and large variations of threshold data are expected due to this problem. No generally accepted procedure exists and only vague recommendations are given in the guidelines. A possible solution will be the evaluation of the sensitivity distribution of a large panel (> 25) of the actual odor to be tested, and screening the panel members according to their position in the distribution. However, this procedure might not be suitable in practice. 8-15 France Netherlands United Kingdom

10

6-8

6-8

>

61
VDI GUIDELINES ON ODOUR PROBLEMS Dr. V. Thiele Landesanstalt fUr Immissionsschutz des Landes NRW D-4300 Essen, FR Germany Three working groups of VDI are mainly engaged in problems of odour determination and odour assessment. The working groups are titled: -"Odorous Substances" -"Application of Olfactometric Methods and Performance Characteristics" -"Dispersion and Odour Concentration in Ambient Air". The titles characterize the subjects which are treated in these working groups. At present the groups establish guidelines to solve odour problems. The guidelines are in different states of development. 3881-1: Olfactometry - Odour Threshold Determination Fundamentals -2: Olfactometry - Odour Threshold Determination Sampling -3: Olfactometry - Odour Threshold Determination Olfactometers Types 1158 and TO-4 -4: Olfactometry - Odour Threshold Determination Instruction for Application and Performance Characteristics 3882 3883 3940 3781 : Assessment and Effects of Odours - Intensity and Hedonic Tone : Assessment and Effects of Odours - Measurement of Annoyance by Means of Interviews : Odour Determination in Ambient Air by Inspection Panels : Odour Dispersion and Odour Concentration in Ambient Air

In the following some aspects of the guidelines are given in detail. Guideline VDI 3881 consists of four parts. The drafts of parts 1, 2, and 3 were published in the VDI handbook. Part 4 is in preparation. The draft of part 1 was already revised. The new version will be published in a few months. The most important result of the revision is the definition of odour concentration expressed as odour units per cubic meter

62
(GE/m**3). According to this definition one odour unit is the amount of odorants in one cubic meter of air at odour threshold level. The new definition is a real concentration and gives a better form of input parameter for dispersion models. On the basis of guideline VDI 3881 parts 1, 2, and 3 ringtests were carried out with different odorants. The results can be summerized as follows: -The dispersion of results varies and depends on the composition of the participants and on problems of sampling and preparation of odorous sample. Lower dispersion is obtained when results with obvious errors in application of guidelines or with large deviations from mean value are excluded. -Participants of the Netherlands get systematically lower threshold values than the others. The reason has to be investigated. -All findings of the ringtests lead to the conclusion that it is possible to determine odour thresholds which do not differ by more than factor 10. At present another ringtest is in preparation. This test will be carried out in summer 1985. The French collegues will also participate in this test. Experience of all ringtests will be reported in part 4 of guideline VDI 3881. Guideline VDI 3882 deals with the determination of odour intensity and hedonic tone. The members of the working group "odorous substances" assume that odour threshold and odour concentration are insufficient for the characterization of odorous perception. They recommend to judge the odour intensity and the hedonic tone by category estimation. Moreover, it is their opinion that the odour determination with olfactometers is not suitable to assess odour in ambient air. Therefore they are preparing two guidelines dealing with these problems. Guideline VDI 3883 gives instructions on the registration of nuisance by interviews with nearby residents of emitting plants or inhabitants of industrial areas. Additionally guideline VDI 3940 describes the determination of odour in ambient air by inspection panels based on the following idea: During constant conditions as to the class of weather, wind speed, and wind direction each local point is characterized by a frequency of odour perception representing the probability to perceive an odour. The situation at a local point will be have to determine the portion of a year with a frequency of odorous perception greater than 5 % in a random test. Both guidelines, VDI 3882 and 3940, should give corresponding results. Guideline VDI 3781 part 5 completes the complex of odour determination and judgement with the calculation of dispersion models. The calculation methode and odour determination by panelists should give comparable results. The following summery can be given. Odour measurements with olfactometers is only a small part of the whole field of odour determination in ambient air and the measurement of odour nuisance must be approached in the near future with appropriate urgency.

63
AN ESTABLISHED SYSTEM FOR ODOUR DETECTION THRESHOLD MEASUREMENTS

R.L. MOSS Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK

Summary A system for determining odour strengths in terms of dilutions to detection threshold, now based on the Warren Spring Laboratory (WSL) Transportable olfactometer, has been used at numerous locations throughout the United Kingdom for the assessment of thousands of odour samples. After a short discussion of the requirements for practical olfactometry, the main features of the WSL olfactometer and sampling procedure are outlined. (A full description has been published elsewhere (1).) Various choices can be made in this type of olfactometry: screened/unscreened panellists, panel size, sample replication, dilution steps; the effect of these choices on the 952 confidence limits is quantified. The range of tasks to which the WSL Transportable olfactometer has been applied is very briefly described as background to the expression of some cautionary views on the possibility of 'standardisation'.

INTRODUCTION There are no 'officially approved' methods in the United Kingdom for measuring the sensory properties of odours. However, during the period 1974-1978, Warren Spring Laboratory (WSL) developed a system for determining odour strengths in terms of dilutions to detection threshold, as part of a substantial research programme on the measurement and control of process odours. This programme was carried out on behalf of the Department of the Environment with the participation of 22 firms or trade associations and 84 local authorities. It is probably correct to state that the WSL system has been applied at some hundreds of locations throughout the United Kingdom and that thousands of odour samples originating either from these odour sources or from laboratory and pilot-plant investigations have been measured.
2. BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR PRACTICAL OLFACTOMETRY

1.

For some purposes an olfactometer can be installed 'permanently' in a laboratory and used to assess samples generated on the same site or nearby. However, if the samples have to be taken at factories or farms nationwide, then obviously it is impractical to transport the samples long distances and the olfactometer and associated equipment must be sufficiently transportable to set up at different locations. Originally the WSL olfactometer (for dilution to detection threshold measurements) was Installed in a mobile laboratory, which comprised an entrance lobby, a test room with filtered air for the panellists and a room for the operator (2). Setting up a mobile laboratory in a suitable parking space and supplying it with panellists at the appropriate times is not without its difficulties.

64
From about 1979 onwards, a readily transportable version of the WSL olfactometer has been used and often local authorities can provide a suitable room and, most helpfully, a number of panellists employed on the same premises. A second basic requirement is the facility to measure the odour strength of each sample (requiring the assessments of perhaps 8 people) with some speed as explained below. In our experience, the whole measuring session should be limited to not more than two hours per day for any group of panellists. Bearing in mind the likely need to take duplicate samples and the 'labour-intensive' nature of odour assessment, it will be appreciated that a reasonable number of samples must be measured in each session. In the WSL system, each sample determination may last 10-15 minutes with 8 panellists (in two groups of A ) . Of course, the actual exposure of the panellist to the odour is much less, totalling less than two minutes per sample. Even so, the number of samples which can be assessed per day is no more than 10 (assuming one group of panellists). Commonly odour samples are taken In the morning, process conditions noted, and air flow rates, temperatures etc measured, followed in the afternoon by the odour strength measuring session. Odour strengths can vary greatly with process conditions, ventilation rates and production procedures and each sample is essentially only a 'snapshot picture'. Therefore even with a rapid method of odour assessment, the total number of odour samples may be no more than the acceptable minimum required to investigate a particular factory or farming situation. THE WSL TRANSPORTABLE OLFACTOMETER It must be made clear that WSL has only used olfactometers constructed on its own premises and calibrated by WSL staff; one such instrument is the WSL 'Transportable' model. (It is emphasised that this olfactometer is not the same as the commercially-available 'Portable' model.) The WSL Transportable olfactometer and its operation have been described in detail previously (1) and only its main features need be reviewed here. From time to time, certain applications have required a special re-design of the olfactometer, e.g. to measure very weak odours, but the basic principles and the mode of operation have remained unchanged for some years. The main features of the standard WSL Transportable olfactometer are as follows: (i) A sample of odorous air is diluted with odour-free air to determine the number of dilutions required for odour to be only just detectable by 50% of the members of a panel, (ii) Dynamic dilution is used, combining controlled flows of sample gas and ordinary air and presenting diluted odour at a constant flow rate to the panellists. The range of possible dilutions is 75 to 750,000 in the standard olfactometer, (iii) The flow rate, 190 litres per minute at each of the four sniffing ports, was chosen from a consideration of respiratory frequency and peak inspiration rates to avoid inadvertent dilution at the sniffing port, (iv) The use of PTFE for construction or coating means that only surfaces of this material contact the odorous air. The intention is to minimise adsorption losses and to avoid contamination, (v) There is no need for verbal communication between the operator and the panellists; a system of signal lights is provided and each panellist records a Yes/No response privately using the buttons on an individual handset, (vi) The extent of dilution (i.e. number of dilutions) follows neither an ascending nor descending order of presentation. The operator, who 3.

65
has control throughout, attempts to elicit all positive responses initially (to reduce panellist anxiety) and then all negative responses (thereby fixing approximately the range of dilutions involved). 'Blanks' are used, but sparingly and mainly to test for apparently biased or erratic behaviour by a panellist. The sampling equipment and procedure have also been described (1). At no time, either during sampling or storage of the sample, do the odorous gases come in contact with glass or metal surfaces nor with pump or valve lubricants. The samples are taken in 40-50 litre capacity bags, fabricated from 50 ( i m thick polyvinyl fluoride film ('Tedlar', Dupont) and fitted with a PTFE valve. The PVF bag is placed in a rigid-walled polythene carboy (60 litres capacity) and, by evacuating the space between the bag and carboy, the odour sample is drawn into the bag through a PTFE sample line. The bag may be partially pre-filled with dry air to avoid condensation when sampling warm moist gases. It should be noted that each sample bag is only used once and then discarded; no attempt is made to re-use the bag for more than one sample. SOURCES OF ERROR Obviously every effort should be made to obtain representative samples, giving careful consideration to the location of sampling points. Errors due to the loss of odorants in sample lines and on storage are minimised by using appropriate materials as discussed above. The extent of these errors is not easily quantified but it has been suggested that they are much less than the uncertainty arising from the variance between panellists and the variance of an individual panellist. The variance between panellists can be reduced by increasing the severity of screening the potential panellists. The size of the dilution steps (differences between adjacent dilution values) affects the consistency of the individual panellists; very large dilution steps give a false impression of consistency. Finally the standard error is reduced by increasing the number of replicate samples and by increasing the number of panellists. Table I indicates the 95Z confidence limits determined with a WSL high-flow rate olfactometer (1) and suggests various options (underlined) with respect to panel screening, panel size, number of replicate samples and dilution steps: (i) The optimum number of replicates was 2, having regard to the costs of sampling and assessment, (ii) Panels larger than 8, i.e. 12 or 16 produced similar confidence limits whether screened or unscreened but WSL believes that screening is also a valuable means of instructing the panellists, (ill) Based on duplicate sampling, a screened panel of 8 achieved almost the same confidence limits with 60Z dilution steps as 6 screened panellists or 8 unscreened panellists when the olfactometer is operated with 30Z dilution steps, (lv) A screened panel of 8, using 301 dilution steps (and duplicate samples) was a further improvement but on balance WSL prefers 60Z dilution steps in order to reduce the time needed for the assessment. Present practice is to screen potential panellists using hydrogen sulphide from a cylinder (25 vpm in nitrogen) to eliminate those with a poor sense of smell (or with erratic Judgment). Previous work with pure substances (Including hydrogen sulphide) has shown (2) that the frequency distribution curve for threshold concentrations is usually skewed. The confidence limits are improved by selecting the most sensitive 80Z of potential panellists who might be viewed as having a 'more Gaussian' 4.

66
Table I Alternative Choices for Panel Type, Panel Size and Sample Replication (952 Confidence Limits for Dilution Values, %) Unscreened Panel; 30% Dilution Steps Panel Size 4 6 8 12 + + 34 46 31

16

One sample Two samples Three samples

+
86 78 75

41 38 37

+
68 62 59

37 34 33

+
43

46 44 43

51 50

59

Unscreened1 Panel; 60% Dilution Steps Panel Size

6 +
112 92 83

8 +
87 72 65

One sample Two samples Three samples

46 42 39

42 38 36

+
73 60 56

53 48 45

Panel Selected for Top 80%; 30% Dilution Steps Panel Size

6 +
78 56 53

8 +
62 46 41

12
+ 32 + 46 31

16

One sample Two samples Three samples

38 31 29

35 28 26

+
43

44 36 35

38 36

54

Panel Selected for Top 80%; 60% Dilution Steps Panel Size

6 +
94 72 64

8 +
73 56 50

One sample Two samples Three samples

42 36 33

39 33 30

+
64 49 43

48 42 39

distribution of sensitivities. In summary, WSL uses 8 screened panellists, 60% dilution steps and, where possible, takes duplicate samples; it is indicated that the corresponding 95% confidence limits are -33% to +49%. It should, of course, be remembered when comparing dilution values determined by the same set of panellists (e.g. to evaluate the % efficiency of odour control equipment on a particular day) that the standard error is somewhat reduced because the person to person variance need not be considered. 5. THE APPLICATION OF DETECTION THRESHOLD MEASUREMENTS The intention here is to list and comment very briefly on the range of

67
tasks to which the WSL Transportable olfactometer has been applied, as background to the views expressed in section 6 on possible standardisation. Often the number of dilutions to detection threshold, D (dimensionless) is combined with the rate, F (m3 s _ 1 ) at which malodorous air is discharged or escapes from the building or process plant to derive the odour emission rate, E (m3 s _ 1 ) where E = DF. Information on the odour strength in terms of D or the odour emission rate, E, can be used in various ways: (i) Different process operations can be investigated to determine which contribute most to the total odour emission rate, with the objective of possible process changes which might reduce or eliminate odour nuisance problems, (ii) Where abatement equipment has been installed, measurements of odour strength on inlet and outlet samples show the efficiency of odour removal (3). (iii) Similarly in laboratory or field studies of abatement techniques, odour strength measurements can be used in conjunction with analytical measurements, e.g. in studies of catalytic after-burning (4), chemical scrubbing (5), adsorption on activated charcoal (6), bio-filtration etc. (iv) An examination of odour complaints in relation to the odour emission rate (2) has produced a most useful empirical formula for calculating the likely maximum distance from an odour source at which complaints are likely to arise* This can be used in dealing with both current disputes and in considering requests for planning permission. It must be emphasised, however, that the formula relates only to values of odour strength measured by a WSL olfactometer, (v) It may well also be necessary to calculate chimney heights for the adequate dispersion of residual odours from abatement equipment or for process odours released without treatment. Again the calculations and examples published by Warren Spring Laboratory (7) assume that the odour strengths were determined by the WSL olfactometer. A great variety of processes and operations have been investigated using WSL olfactometers including a number of farming and sewage disposal problems. Some examples specific to the present conference are: odour strengths in broiler (poultry) houses in relation to weeks of growth; the effect of filters/washers on pig house ventilation air; the treatment of poultry manure dryer emissions; head-space odours from agriculture and sewage wastes and odour assessment of the unit operations at sewage treatment works. SOME VIEWS ON POSSIBLE STANDARDISATION It is known that odour detection thresholds measured by different types of olfactometer can vary substantially. Not unreasonably, there are well-intentioned calls for 'standardisation of odour measurements', possibly as the basis for odour emission regulations, and so it might be useful to express some cautionary views. (I) Detection threshold values need to be combined with other information to have any utility in assessing nuisance potential. To determine odour emission rates, the rate at which malodorous air is being discharged must be known and often can only be roughly estimated where odour is escaping from a building or from equipment outside a building. Further, odour emission rate is only one determinant of potential odour nuisance which also depends on the perceived intensity, character and hedonic tone of the odour, the 6.

68
frequency and duration of exposure, the height and location of the discharge, the distance between the odour source and potential complainants and finally prevailing meteorological conditions. Where detection threshold values are used comparatively, for example, to assess the efficiency of abatement equipment, then the case for standardisation is reduced and considerations of speed and convenience become, possibly, more important. Undoubtedly some past studies on odour control would have been improved if more odour samples could have been assessed. It is not really understood why different types of olfactometer produce such different odour detection threshold values. The reasons may include inadequate design (e.g. inadvertent dilution at the sniffing ports or adsorption losses), physical effects (e.g. mass-transfer of odorants in the nose), physiological effects (e.g. length of stimulus/rest intervals) and panel behaviour (e.g. effects arising from the mode of presentation or type of response required). In these circumstances, simple guidelines for standardisation may not achieve their objective because a real variable is not controlled. For example, standardising the volume flow rate of air from the sniffing port does not standardise air velocity into the nose unless the design of the ports and how the panellists used them are also controlled. It may be impossible to correlate odour strengths determined with a new olfactometer operating to suggested guidelines with odour strengths determined by some existing olfactometers. It has been observed (2) that the relationship between two existing olfactometers appeared to depend on the nature and concentration of the odorants. In this situation, any proposed guidelines which resulted in the loss of an established body of knowledge would not be acceptable. For example, the WSL Transportable olfactometer has produced a coherent set of dilution values over some years, which is the basis for predicting odour nuisance, calculating chimney heights etc and WSL would not readily abandon their well established system for odour detection threshold measurements.

(ii)

(iii)

(lv)

REFERENCES (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) BEDBOROUGH, D.R. (1980). Odour Control - A Concise Guide (Editors, F.H.H. Valentin and A.A. North), Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, 17-29. * BEDBOROUGH, D.R. and TROTT, P.E. (1979). The Sensory Measurement of Odours by Dynamic Dilution, Warren Spring Laboratory Report, LR 299 (AP). MOSS, R.L. Developments in the Measurement and Control of Process Odours, (1983). 50th Annual Conference, National Society for Clean Air, Torquay. IRWIN, J.G., DORLING, T.A. and MOSS, R.L. (1979). Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 13, 1569-1579. POPE, D, DAVIS, B.J. and MOSS, R.L. (1981). Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 15, 251-262. DORLING, T.A. (1978). Activated Carbon in Odour Control, Warren Spring Laboratory Report, LR 293 (AP). KEDDIE, A.W.C. (1980). Odour Control - A Concise Guide (Editors, F.H.H. Valentin and A.A. North), Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, 93-107.

69

GUIDELINE FOR OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS IN THE NETHERLANDS COMPARISON WITH WESTERN EUROPEAN GUIDELINES H.L.J.M. WIJNEN Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment Air Directorate, Division of Air Quality

Summary Based mainly on sensorical research in The Netherlands a guideline for olfactometric measurements was published in 1983. Because this guideline was not extensive also data from four Dutch olfactometers are used to make a comparative discussion on other Western European guidelines for olfactometric measurements. This report also contains a brief outline of the standardization procedure in The Netherlands. Three olfactometric measurement methods, which conform to the requirements of the Dutch guideline, are compared with each other. Preliminary results of this running study are given. Furthermore, a number of recommendations for olfactometric measurements is presented.

INTRODUCTION A working group on odours of the Inspectorate for the Environment in The Netherlands proposed, in 1983, an air quality standard for odour concentration in dwellings around odour sources (3). Because odour concentrations always have to be assessed sensorically, a guideline for olfactometric measurement was also included in the same report. Detailed recommendations were not included. In 1985 a draft chapter on odours will be pubished in the Air Pollution Control Manual with more details and comments on the measuring methods in use in The Netherlands (4). A comparative study with three olfactometers is running. Results of it will be incorporated in the definitive version of the Air Pollution Control Manual. After a short description of the guideline, comments are given on other Western European guidelines and include the following items: sampling, apparatus, panel, procedure and calculation. The report ends with an outline of the still to be finalised standardization procedure. GUIDELINE FOR OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENT IN The Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning a guideline for olfactometric measurements in comparable results threshold values have to be that conforms to the following conditions: 2. THE NETHERLANDS and Environment published 1983 (3). To obtain more established with a method

1.

70
1. The possibility of a forced-choice detection method on at least two sniffing ports. 2. A sample flow rate of at least 16 1/min. 3. Exclusion of "too good" and "too bad" panellists. 4. A panel size between 6 and 8 panellists.

5. Odour-free surroundings.

6. Dilution steps with a maximum factor of two. 7. Presentation of at least 5 dilution steps with ascending concentration i.e. descending dilution. 8. Panellists should not be influenced by each other, by noises, by the panel leader, by the position of valves and sniffing ports etc. COMMENTS ON WESTERN EUROPEAN GUIDELINES Three Western European Guidelines for olfactometric measurements are discussed and compared with the Dutch guideline namely the VDI Richtlinie (10), the AFNOR Norme experimentale (1) and the Warren Spring Laboratory (WSL) guideline (2, 6 ) . Sampling Although no prescriptions on sampling odours are included in the Dutch guideline, some recommendations will be included in the Air Pollution Control Manual. Because the influence of concentrating an odorous sample on the perception has never been investigated thoroughly, only non-concentrated sampling methods are available for sensory measurements. When adsorption and condensation can be avoided, both dynamic and static sampling methods can be used. Often rinsing the sampling apparatus or even the whole olfactometer with odorous air is necessary to reduce adsorption. Before using the static method a comparative study should be carried out if possible. On the other hand extreme fluctuating emissions can only be sampled statically. The Netherlands Organization of Applied Scientific Research (TNO) carried out a comparative study with Teflon-FEP-bags. Ratios between the dynamic and static method ranged from 0.7 to 1.1 after a storage time of 24 hours (7). These Teflon-bags can be used several times. Normally the sample size is 50 to 100 litres but for ambient air samples of 1600 litres are sometimes necessary. Apparatus In The Netherlands dynamic dilution devices are, with one exception, always used by research institutes, provincial authorities and industry. However these devices differ greatly in design and in method of application. In table I the principal data of four olfactometers are summarised. These were built by the research institutes themselves. In general, research on the design of an olfactometer, especially on the dilution compartment, the material used in construction and the necessary odourless air for dilution, is either not carried out or never published. Because of this, recommandations on these above points are not yet included in the Dutch guideline. In contrast to this, sample presentation is thoroughly investigated. On behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, TNO investigated the influence of flow rate in relation to 3.2 3.1 3.

71
dilution factor, both analytically and sensorically. The flow rate varied from 6 to 35 1/min. Propane concentrations were measured at the back of the nose of an artificial head through which 20 1/min. was sucked continuously. Sensory measurements were carried out with butanol and ethylbutyrate. The results are summarized in figure 1. Based on this research 16 1/min. was recommended as the minimal sample flow rate.

dilution ftctor o A butanol sensoric measurements ethylbutyrate propane FID measurements

10

\
=^=-==^ A - 7 t r f ^ = r r-oxo A
I I I I .

A
i i i

A A

10 Fig. 1

15

20

25

30

35

40

air-flow Cl/mln.) Dilution factor as a function of sample flow rate

Lack of data prohibited a recommendation on the design of the sample nose interface. According to TNO a sniffing port with a diameter between 4 and 7 cm will guarantee a perceptible but not too strong air stream and a port big enough for the nose. The velocity of the air stream varies from 9 to 27 cm/s with a flow rate of 20 1/min. AFNOR recommends a diameter of 10 cm. With 30-60 1/min. this means a velocity of 6-13 cm/s. WSL prescribes a tremendously high velocity of 200 cm/s with a flow rate of 60-190 1/min. The diameter of the sniffing ports must therefore be between 1.5 and 4.5 cm. To minimise the influence of variables that are inherent to sensory evaluation, such as anticipation, decision criteria, doubt and adaption, the yes/no detection method is strongly rejected in the Netherlands and a forced-choice method recommended. The Psychological Laboratory of the State University of Utrecht investigated what influence differing numbers of sniffing ports in a forced-choice detection method had on the results (9) . Because negligible differences were found no specific number of sniffing ports has been recommended. Panel Although panels can never be standardized so precisely as the other items, prescriptions on the size, number of replicates, selection criteria and training can guarantee a rather good reproducibility. 3.3

72
The panel size - the most important variable - ranges from 3 (according to the VDI for comparative measurements) to 20 (according to AFNOR). 95% confidence limits however depend also much on the number of replicates as can be seen from figure 2. These confidence limits were calculated according to the VDI Richtlinie. The VDI says nothing about replicates while the WSL recommends 3 replicates. In The Netherlands, with a prescribed minimal panel size of 6/ and a recommended number of replicates of at least 2, the 95% confidence limits will range from 50 to 140%. For the number of panellists in comparative studies no specific recommendations are included in the Dutch guideline in contrast to the VDI Richtlinie.

10

_U

* '

L_ _l

I 8

I 10

I 12

I 11

L_ 20

16

PANEL SIZE

FIG. 2 : 95% confidence limits for odour concentration as a function of panel size and number of replicates In The Netherlands, no panel selection criteria are specifically prescribed only the exclusion of "too good" and "too bad" panellists is recommended. The VDI Richtlinie prescribes the panellists ages precisely but excludes criteria for testing sensory capacities. The French guideline gives a very extensive selection procedure, but rather time consuming, costly and not based on sound starting points. To test a panel on five different substances is not very cost-effective. Besides many panellists will probably never adhere to the prescribed limits. The

73
detection threshold values are namely withdrawn from the literature without checking these thoroughly by an apparatus built according to the French guideline. Training panellists is only mentioned as desirable by the WSL guideline. In the Netherlands a panel is sometimes tested every day, thus verifying the dilution apparatus itself. Sometimes trained panellists are used (see Table 1). Table 1 Principal data of four olfactometers in the Netherlands
MT-TNO1 Sampling ncthod Apparatus Dilution range (excl. predilutlon) Sample flow rat* Sanple detection ethod Panel Size Selection Training Procedure Panel leader Number simultaneous evaluations Pactor dilution step Number of dilution steps Replicates Blanks/sample Number tests/sample Sniffing time Stimulus interval Duration sample evaluatlon(testserie Break Samples/day Concentration presentation Calculation Calculation method static or dynamic CIVO-TNO2 static IHAG3 static DCMR* static

1-16,000

1.2-250,000

2-100,000

4-2250 IS 1/min. forc.ch. triangle

20 1/mln. 16 1/min. 20 1/mln. forc.ch. triangle forc.ch. triangle forc.ch. duotest

8 8 anosmia and heavy smokers rejected testserle/panel testserie/day

10 permanent panel

4 permanent group of 20 panellist

yes 1 (1.25-2) 5-7 3 3 18-24 5 sec. 2 min. 90 min. 30 min. 3 at random

yes 4 ca. 3 S 3-4 2-3 20-25 20-25 sec. 1 min. 30 min. t,i 6 ascend

yes 8 2 5-6 4 8 25-30 15 sec. 45 sec. 30 min. 15-30 min. 6 ascend

yes 1 ca. 2 5 2 2 12 10-15 sec. 3 min. 60 min. 15 min. 5 ascend

probitanalysls

arcsin transform. z-score transform arcsin transform.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Division of Technology for the Society - TNO, Apeldoorn Central Institute for Food Research - TNO, Zeist Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wageningen Central Environmental Control Agency Rijnmond, Schiedam For every sample a new panel is chosen. 3.4

Procedure General Perception of odour concentrations around the threshold value is strongly effected by the presence of other odours. Results can be influenced very negatively if tests are carried out in the neighbourhood of odour sources. Measuring in odour-free surroundings is particularly important for mobile or transportable olfactometers. Also for

74
laboratory measurements this is strongly recommended in the Netherlands. AFNOR also prescribes it and the VDI in a minor way. The WSL, on the other hand, does not prescribe odour-free surroundings for their transportable olfactometer. Another important feature for precise sensorical measurements is the necessary uninfluenced response of the panellists. This is recommended by the Netherlands, the VDI and the WSL. The olfactometer of WSL differs from the others by not seperating panellists during testing. Presentation Adsorption and desorption can be avoided much better and adaptation minimised when concentrations are presented with ascending concentration levels. A series of at least 5 dilution steps is recommended in the Netherlands starting two or three steps under the expected threshold value with a maximum factor of two between the steps. The same factor and number of dilution steps are recommended by the VDI. The dilution range covered then extends to a factor of 16. The French guideline prescribes 6 to 9 dilutions steps with a factor of 10 (= ca. 3 ) . This means a ratio between the highest and lowest presented dilution is 300 to 10.000. On the contrary the ratio prescribed by the WSL ranges only from 6.3 (8 dilution steps with a factor of 1.3) to 10.5 (6 dilution steps with a factor of 1.6). The presented dilutions should at least cover the range from 10 to 90% perception. Considering the perception curves published in the literature , this means a factor between 10 to 35. Although 300 seems much too high, the presented range in the Netherlands and that prescribed by the VDI, seems rather small. Regarding the number of times required for test replication the WSL guideline is explicit. The WSL demand three repetitions. In the Netherlands two to four repetitions are usual. Duration The duration of a sample assessment depends on sniffing time, stimulus interval, panel size, simultaneous evaluation, number of dilution steps, number of blanks and number of replicates. According to the VDI Richtlinie a sample can be assessed once in 15 to 30 minutes. This assesment takes place without simultaneous evaluation and is a rather short period of time due to the inadequate stimulus interval of 15 seconds. WSL assesses a sample with the much longer interval of 1 minute. Because they use simultaneous evaluation with 3 or 4 panellists assessments can take place once in every 15 minutes. The recommended three replicates bring the total test duration up to 45 minutes. The French guideline is not clear at all on this point. First of all nothing is said about simultaneous evaluation and number of replicates. If each panellist should evaluate 6 to 9 stimuli with an interval of 3 minutes before the next panellist may start, the whole procedure with 20 panellists will last 7 to 9 hours (1). However the prescribed sequence of stimuli makes it almost impossible to shorten the procedure. Nothing is prescribed yet in The Netherlands regarding sniffing time, stimulus interval, simultaneous evaluation and number of blanks. Mostly a test series takes 30 to 90 minutes (see table I ) . Simultaneous evaluation in particular will shorten the duration of a test series. Comparability Only the VDI-Richtlinie gives criteria from which it is possible to compare sensorical measurement methods with each other. Results taken

75
from the VDI-ringtest ace the base for this comparison. However some olfactometers in this ringtest did not conform to the VDI Richtlinie. Maybe because of this the range between the highest allowable threshold value for hydrogen sulfide and the lowest is great (namely from 0.4 to 8 ug/m3 (factor 20)). Calculations In contrast to the other guidelines a specific calculation method is not recommended in the Netherlands. The results vary less due to different calculation methods than because of other factors. In a comparative study with four olfactometers threshold values were calculated in three different ways: arcsin transformation, probitanalysis and z-transformation. The average of the ratios between different calculated results was maximal 1.15 ( 0.16) (8). STANDARDIZATION OF OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS IN THE NETHERLANDS Although some research institutes started already in the middle of the seventies to measure sensorically odour emissions, it was not until 1980 before 4 different olfactometers were compared with each other for the first time. Great differences were found ranging from a factor of 3 to 40. A relationship between the differing compounds tested and the factor number was also noticed. The differences between the two TNO olfactometers almost disappeared after setting both on the same flow rate of 16 1/min. (7). In 1983, TNO thoroughly investigated the influence of the flow rate (see figure 2 ) . For the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment three olfactometers with a flow rate of at least 16 1/min. were then compared with each other. The preliminary results of this comparative study are summarized in table II. 3.5

4.

Table II

Threshold values (ug/m3) - Comparison of three olfactometers.

compound n-butanol ethylbutyrate hydrogen sulfide 1. See table I

MT-TNO1 77 0,030 0,43

CIVO-TNO1 101 0,060 0,85

IMAG1 136 0,090 1,05

Although the results are not yet analysed it can be concluded that the threshold values agree. Results of this study will also be incorporated in the definitive version of the chapter on odours in the Air Pollution Control Manual. The draft is currently with the printer and will be released soon (4) . In coming years a ringtest will probably be organised under supervision of the Netherlands Standards Institute. Every research institute, provincial authority and industry will be invited to participate in this ringtest. The need to standardize olfactometric measurements is growing in the Netherlands. In 1984 .interim limit values on odour concentrations were published in the Indicative Multi-year Programme to combat Air Pollution

76
1985-1989. This is a revised version of the 1983 proposal (3, 5 ) . In 1988 or 1989 these interim limit values will be laid down in a General Administrative Order. By that time a standardised olfactometer must be available. In the meantime air quality standards will be set for about 30 so called priority substances. For some of these, well defined threshold values are necessary. On behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, MT-TNO are assessing threshold values of more than ten compounds. Five of these compounds have already been assessed (see table I I I ) . If these values lie under or just above the no-effect level, standards will be set also according to the odour detection threshold values. Table III Threshold values assessed by MT-TNO compound carbondisulfide phenol styrene tetr achloroethene trichloroethene 1. See table I ug/ra.3 190 35 68 8100 4100

Recommendations
Both dynamic and static sampling methods are appropiate for olfactometric measurements, when adsorption and condensation can be avoided. When using the static method, verification with the dynamic method should be carried out. Static samples have to be assessed within 24 hours. Measurements of detection threshold values should use dynamic dilution techniques in odour free surroundings. A forced-choice detection method should be used to reduce the influence of variables that are inherent to sensory evaluation, such as anticipation, decision criteria, doubt and adaption, etc. For the same reason sample presentation with ascending concentrations is recommended. The sample flow rate should be at least 16 1/min. The air stream coming out of the sniffing ports, should be percievable but not too strong. The velocity should lie between 5 and 100 cra/s. The panel size must be at least 6 but 8 is more suitable. The ratio between the highest and lowest presented dilution should be at least 35 and the test series should be replicated at least twice. Two successive dilutions steps should not differ more than a factor of two. Responses of the panellists may not be influenced by the panel leader, other panellists, noises, position of the sniffing ports etc. Sniffing time should not be longer then 15 seconds with a stimulus interval of at least 1 minute, while a break between two test series has to last at least 5 minutes.

2. 3.

5.

10. 11.

77
12. Olfactometric measurement methods must be rejected when threshold values of at least three substances can not be assessed within a factor of 2 to previously generally accepted values.

REFERENCES (1) AFNOR (1982), Methode de mesurage de l'odeur d'un effluent gazeux, Determination du facteur de dilution au seuil de perception. Nor me experimentale X43-101. (2) BEDBOROOGH D.R. and Trott, P.E. (1979), The Sensory Measurement of Odour by Dynamic Dilution, Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, LR 299 (AP) . (3) Geurnormering (1983), Publicatiereeks Lucht nr. 11, Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, Staatsuitgeverij 's-Gravenhage, (in Dutch). (4) HML (Handboek Modelvoorschriften Luchtverontreiniging), (Air Pollution Control Manual) (1985), draft chapter on odours, Staatsuitgeverij 's-Gravenhage, (in Dutch) (in press). (5) IMP, Indicative Multi-year Programme to combat Air Pollution 1985-1989 (1984), Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, Staatsuitgeverij 's-Gravenhage, (in Dutch). (6) Odour Control (1980), a concise guide, Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage. (7) ROOS C , J.A. Don and J. Schaefferj (1984) Characterization of odour-polluted air. Proceedings of a symposium on "characterization and control of odoriferous pollutants in process industries", Louvain-la-Neuve. (8) SCHAEFFER J. et.al. (1981), Vergelijking van olfactometers voor stankonderzoek, CIVO-TNO rapport nr. A 81.170/170052, Zeist (in Dutch) . (9) SLUYTER T.G.M. and Punter P.H., (1982) Validiteitsonderzoek Olfactometers Phychological Laboratory, Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (in Dutch) . (10) VDI Richtlinie 3881 blatt 1-3, (1984) VDI-Handbuch Reinhaltung der Luft band 1 (draft).

78
FRENCH TENTATIVE STANDARD X-43-101 : METHOD OF MEASUREMENTS OF THE ODOUR OF A GASEOUS EFFLUENT Comments on interpretations made by Messrs HARTUNG, VOORBURG et HANGARTNER by M.F. THAL Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique IPSN/DPT/SPIN, BP n 6, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

The reports prepared by Messrs HART.UNG, VOORBURG and HANGARTNER concerning the analysis : "european standards and guidelines in the field of olfactometry are commented ; explanations and further information are supplied".

I. INTERPRETATION OF THE FRENCH STANDARD BY J.H. HARTUNG 1.1. Paragraph "Recommendations for sampling in the guidelines" : static sampling has not been abandoned. It is used very often (tedlar bags). The comment "abandoned because of adsorption problems" applies to the apparatus (olfactometers), cf. french standard 3.3.2, p. 2. 1.2. Answers to the questions asked in the conclusion (p. <\ of J.H. HARTUNG 1.2.1. Type of sampling and procedure - dynamic sampling : direct introduction of the gas to be studied into the olfactometer, - static sampling, in 10-50 1 tedlar bags. The bags are introduced into a stainless steel carboy of a convenient size and filled thanks to the slight underpressure created in the carboy (the bac is made passive by successive filling and evacuating operations). 1.2.2. Material of the sampling device - bags : tedlar bags - connecting tubes : stainless steel and/or PTFE. 1.2.3. Sample size : 10-50 1. I.2.A. Sampling time : varying between 15 and 30 min. 1.2.5. Storage and temperature time : varying between a few minutes and 3-4 days ; ambient temperature. 1.2.6. In order to prevent condensations, an equipment is used, dynamically allowing the dilution of a known flow of the odorous gas in a known flow of an inodorous gas ; the temperature of the dilution gas must be that of the gas to be diluted if it is a hot gas ; ideally a heat exchanger should be set as much upstream the olfactometer (or sampling bag) as possible. The dilution gas humidity must be as low as possible (nitrogen and oxygen) when dealing with a humidity saturated gas at ambient temperature. 1.2.7. To prevent dusts from clogging the olfactometer tubes, a glass filter (with low retention of odorous molecules) is set upstream the apparatus. In case of dusts in the analyzed gas, it is better to make a

79
bag sampling without filtering ; the dusts likely to have trapped the odorous compounds are sedimented in the bag, are not re-suspended when the gas is introduced into the olfactometer, and eventually desorb the odorous compounds in the bag. II. INTERPRETATION OF A FRENCH STANDARD BY J.H. VOORBURG II.2. Paragraph "olfactometer", p. 1 The static olfactometer have not been abandoned on account by the "consumation of considerable quantities of gas" but because of adsorption phenomena and, as mentioned in the report, because of the time needed for change of concentration. 11.2. Paragraph "Range of concentration", p. 2 The possible dilution factor, sampling between 10 and 10000, makes it possible to utilize a series of 7 regularly spaced dilutions (corresponding to a geometrical progression of /l0, viz approximately 0.03 ; 0.1 ; 0.3 ; 1 ; 3 ; 10 ; 30). In the practie, as soons as dilution equals or exceeds 3000, the threshold value is obtained with greater accuray by performing pre-dilutlon of the gas analyzed in order to set this threshold value between the dilution factors 10 and 1000. 11.3. Paragraph "calibration", p. 3 In this paragraph, "calibration" and "olfactometer cleaning" should be distinguished. The french standard makes no reference concerning the olfactometer calibration. Calibration will certainly be carried out with methane analyzed by a flame ionization detector. III. INTERPRETATION OF THE FRENCH STANDARD BY H. HANGARTNER III.l. Comments on the tables 111.1.1. "General conditions" - time needed to determine a threshold (for one individual) : about 20 min, - duration of breaks : 20 min, - time needed to determine two thresholds by the panel : 400 min, i.e. about 7 hours. 111.1.2. "Detection methods" "Factor of dilution series" : 3 instead of 1.8 (1.8 being the lowest flow of the odorous and inodorous gases, in m 3 /h, at the outlet of the olfactometer, at the time of "sniffing", cf. french standard, para. 4.1). 111.1.3. "Evaluation of threshold values" No comment. 111.1.4. "Selection of panelists" "Sensitivity" : selection of panelists as a function of their individual thresholds of perception on 5 pure products. Interindividual differences ranging between 1 and 1000 are accepted, as it really occurs. - "Honesty" : the question is eliminated by the forced choice answer. - "Physical condition" : for routine measurements the answer to a questionnaire does not seem important, but may be valuable in the case of intercomparaisons (that interpretation of such questionnaires is difficult, . . . ) . - "Panel size" . changes brought in the french standar : 10 individuals instead of 20, . meaning of "comparative m." ?

80
III.1.4. "Selection of panelists" - "Sensitivity" : selection des sujets en fonction de leur seuils individuels de perception pour 5 produits purs. On accepte des differences interindividuelles comprises entre 1 et 1 000, comme cela est le cas dans la ralit. - "Honesty" : la rponse choix forc limine la question. - "Physical condition" : la rponse un questionnaire ne semble pas essentielle pour des mesures de routine, mais peut etre valable dans le cas d'essais circulaires (3 noter la difficult d'exploitation d'un questionnaire...). - "Panel size" . modification apportee dans la norme franaise : 10 sujets et non 20, . signification de "comparative m." ?

81
EXPERIENCES WITH OLFACTOMETRY MEASUREMENTS IN HORWAY P. Holmvang Center for Industrial Research Oslo

fimiary Some experiences with olfactoaetric measurements in connection with odour abatement processes, mainly in sewage sludge and waste water treatment plants and in the fish meal industry, are presented. Studies have been carried out to calculate the efficiency of various odour reducing methods. The additional information provided by the measurements was of practical use for the management of the process to improve odour reducing efficiency.

1. INTRODUCTION Odorous emissions from industrial and other plants have become of greater concern also in Norway the last decades. In order to assist the industry in establishing suitable odour reducing processes, odour measurements are performed at our institute. Olfactometry is useful for objective evaluation of odour levels and for characterization of certain odours, often in combination with gas chromatography . Some of our experience connected to the application of olfactometric studies is described in this paper. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE OLFACTOMETER Among the several olfactometers available on the market, our institute in 1976 ordered an olfactometer developed by Dr. Dravniek at IIT, Chicago (1), based upon the dynamic forced triangle principle. The olfactometer supplies 6 dilution levels. At each dilution level 3 samples ("triangle") are presented to the panelist from a set of glass sniffing port3, two presenting the test room air (blanks). The third is the odorous gas sample diluted with test room air. The panelist is instructed that one of the three ports at each dilution level exhibits an odour, and that his task is to smell the effluents from the ports and decide which port, in his opinion, delivers an odorous sample. If the panelist can smell no difference he has to guess ("forced triangle"). This is included in the statistical basis for calculation of the total odour strength. The test panel consists of 7-10 tested and motivated persons, usually people from our laboratory staff. The test is carried out with one panelist at the time, starting with the most diluted sample and proceeding towards higher concentrations of the sample. The choice at each level is signalled by depressing a button corresponding to the port thought to be odorous. This choice is observed by

82
the panel leader on a panel of light in a separate signal box. The panel leader records the judgements and calculates by aeans of a statistical procedure, the averaged panel value termed ED . This term denotes Effective Qosage at the 50 percent level, i.e. that dilution level at which 50 percent of the panel would and 50 percent would not detect odour of the diluted sample. The dilution is denoted by the dilution factor. For instance: ED = 1000 means that one litre of the odorous air must be diluted with 1000 litres of non-dodrous air to reach the panel threshold termed ED . With the olfactometer in use it is possible to measure dilutions between approximately 10x up to approximately 30.000x. 3. APPLICATIONS In general the main sources of odour emission in Norway are fish meal plants, pulp and paper mills, and plants for the treatment of sewage sludge and waste water. Investigations have been carried out in these and other branches of the industry, i.e. the food industry. Each case may provide features which influence the olfactometric measurements, often demanding special sampling techniques and interpretations. In the following some of the problems and experiences will be pointed out by means of examples from sewage treatment and fish meal plants, showing the use of olfactometry for obtaining satisfactory odour reducing results. A couple of years ago an investigation was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of odour reducing processes based on different principles, such as chemical scrubbers, soil bed filters, activated carbon filters, iron oxide filters, and combustion. Samples for the olfactometric measurements were taken in different positions in the installations and the odour reducing efficiency was calculated as the ratio between the recorded ED value at the outlet and inlet of the purification steps:
(ED filter 5 o'outlet

"

(ED

so'inlet

(ED ) ltU 5 0Joutlet The investigation provided a large amount of olfactometric data. It became, however, obvious that the results could not be used for direct comparison of the effect of the different odour reducing methods. This was due to the fact that each plant handled a variety of gas quantities and qualities. In addition, flow rates and degrees of humidity at the outlet made comparison irrelevant. On the other hand, the set of data turned out to be a useful tool for calculating the limitations of each odour reducing method under definite conditions. The results also allowed precautions for appropriate process management under conditions causing high levels of odorous compounds. As examples can be mentioned: The odour emission data for chemical scrubbers can be used for optimization of the odour reducing process. Several chemical scrubbers have been investigated. Most commonly used in Norway are scrubbers utilizing sodium hypochlorite as agent for the oxidation of odorous compounds. Generally, the installation and effect of such scrubbers seems to be quite successful, with very high odour reducing efficiency. If the scrubber, however, is operated incorrectly, the odour of the scrubber itself nay be the predominant source of nuisance. When measuring the reducing efficiency of chemical scrubbers we always ask our panelists about the odour impression of the sample at the less diluted level. The

83
information provided by the description of the odour is indispensable in the evaluation of the purification effect. When operated incorrectly the odour of the sample will be described as "chemicals, faint chlorine' or worse, 'typical chlorine'. Quite often such informations are used as a basis for adjustments and optimizing in chemical scrubber management. Measure of odour reducing efficiency in iron oxide filters is another esample of how olfactometry may contribute to the optimization of an odour reducing method. In some Norwegian sewage sludge and wastewater treatment plants iron oxide filters have been installed with success. The filter consists of mixed wood chips and iron oxide, and the odorous compounds are oxidized in the filter. The total odour strength was measured in such a filter where the air from sludge tanks providing an offensive odour was finely dispersed at the 3 m bottom of the filter box (total filter volume: 3 m , containing 300 kg iron oxide). It was observed that the purifying efficiency was strictly dependent on the gas flow in the filter, and that relatively high flow rates gave the highest efficiencies. This is indicated in the curve below.

50

100 150 200 Gas flow

250

(m3/h)

Figure 1. Odour reduction efficiency in iron oxide filter expressed as a function of the gas flow through the filter. At a low flow rate the odour was described as "wooden*, a smell originating from the filter mass. At higher flow rates the odour got a faint smell of sewage sludge. What is then the explanation to the high efficiency at high flow rates? Probably the odour of the filter mass makes a great part of the total odour at low flow rates. At higher flow rates this odour is diluted to some extent, while the oxidation of odorous compounds in the sludge tank air is still effective, resulting in a high total odour reducing efficiency. It should be mentioned that the iron oxide filter at the right flow rate has functioned well for 3-4 years with a good odour reducing efficiency and impressing capacity. Development of a 'new' odour reducing method: This is an example of how present processes can be combined to obtain a better odour abatement system, and how olfactometric measurements are useful by evaluation of the efforts made to improve the odour reducing

84
efficiency. By measurements of total odour strength in a treatment plant the ED values pointed out the sludge press and dewatering process as the predominant odour sources of the plant. In the venting air from this position extremely high ED values were recorded. This air was led through a carbon filter for odour reduction. Olfactometric measurements at the filter revealed poor odour reducing efficiency. It was observed that odour compounds were not destroyed in the filter. They only restrained until the carbon became saturated, and thereafter evaporated into the outlet air contributing to the odour strength. The filter capacity was obviously too small for the heavy load. Attempts to reduce the odour strength before the filter did not succeed, until the air was led through a container filled with saturated lime slurry (pH = 12-14). The slurry was part of a precipitation process in the plant. Dispersion in the alkaline slurry extensively reduced the odour strength of the air, resulting in sufficient capacity of the carbon filter also when handling heavy loads of sewage sludge. Since then the carbon filter has worked well, within the limitation of such filters in general. Neither is it observed signs indicating reduced precipitation properties of the lime slurry. Measurements of total odour strength in combustion processes imply sampling challenges. Beside the chemical scrubber process, combustion of odorous air is the best odour reducing method. The disadvantage of this process is the high energy costs. Treatment at apropriate conditions, however, will destroy the odorous compounds extensively. Temperatures about 850 C and contact time up to 3 seconds are reported (2,3). Olfactometric measurements in combustion processes involve certain sampling problems caused by the temperature difference between inlet and outlet. The humidity of outlet air must also be taken into consideration. Problems may occur when hot outlet air is sampled at low temperatures. In most such cases sampling is impossible without special arrangements. Such conditions are present during odour measurements in fish meal plants with combustion as the odour reducing method. The largest problem turned out to be the temperature differences between outlet air (85-220 C) and outdoor temperatures (0-15 C ) , causing condensation. The dew point of the outlet air was calculated, and experiments were carried out with dilution of the outlet air to prevent condensation in the sampling bags. Condensation was prevented by diluting the outlet air 5-150 times with dry, purified N gas. Comparison of N -diluted and undiluted samples revealed large differences in ED value. In samples demanding a high degree of dilution to prevent condensation, the measured odour strength was up to 5 times higher than in the undiluted corresponding samples. Samples demanding less dilution showed less deviating results. 4. CONCLUSIONS In the attempt to minimize odour emission, olfactometric measurements of total odour strength give useful informations about the odour reducing efficiency of different processes as a function of parameters like dosage of chemicals in scrubbers, humidity and temperature in packed filters, flow rates, etc. Olfactometric measurements also point out the main odour sources of the plant. From a set of olfactometric data combined with other essential

85
parameters, efforts can be made to improve odour reducing processes within their limitations. Better odour reducing efficiency can be obtained by appropriate management of the process, and energy costs may be reduced by discriminative venting of process operations contributing with high concentrations of odorous compounds. However, attention must be paid to the sampling procedures in processes involving high temperatures and high degrees of humidity. Measurements indicate that such conditions may influence on ED values to some extent. REFFERENCES (1) DRAVMEKS, A. and PROKOP, W.H. (1973). Source emission odour measurement by a dynamic forced choice triangle olfactometer. Air Poll. Control Assoc. Paper, 73-276. (2) PETTIT, C.G. (1959). 20 years of sewage sludge burning at Barberton, Ohio. J. San. Eng. Div. Amer. Soc. Civil Engr. 85SA6, 17. (3) LABOON, J.F. (1961). Construction and operation of the Pittsburgh project. J. Water. Poll. Control Fed. 33, 758.

86
LIMITATIONS IMPOSED ON OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS BY THE HUMAN FACTOR E.P. KBSTER Psychological Laboratory, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Summary The use of the human subject as a sensor in olfactometry leads to a number of physical, methodological and panel composition requirements. Olactometers used in odour pollution assessment should be able to deliver ranges of concentrations varying in dilution from 1 to 10 at volumes between 1.8 and 3.6 m /h without changing the pressure at the nose entrance more than 5 mbar. They should also make it possible to use forced choice methods by providing at least two sniffing ports which each may carry the odourous stimulus or pure air. Panels used to obtain valid odour threshold data should at least have 20 members. For practical work using relative measurements only panels of at least 6 trained subjects are recommended. Finally, it is pointed out that odour units/m are no direct indication of the perceived intensity of an odour.

1. INTRODUCTION Olfactometers are physical instruments which use the human nose as a sensor. As a consequence, the possibilities and limitations of the instrument are determined to a large extent by the properties of the human subject. In this paper we will describe these properties and we will indicate which steps should be taken to optimize the use of the human subjects involved in olfactometric measurements. Such recommendations will be concerned with: A. Physical requirements: The olfactometer should be well adapted to the human physiology in terms of range of dilutions delivered, volume of delivered air, pressure at the nose piece, fit of the nose piece to the nose, quality of the pure air and of the ambient air. B. Methodological requirements: The stimulus presentation method should be well adapted to avoid response variability as a result of response bias and other psychological factors. C. Panel requirements: The panels should be large enough to be sufficiently representative of the population concerned. In the following discussed. sections each of these types of requirements will be

87
2. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS Although this topic has been discussed in many other contributions to this symposium, we will briefly summarize them here. In man, as in all vertebrates, the sense of smell is closely related with the respiratory tract. In normal breathing, however, it is stimulated only to a low degree. Only during sniffing sufficient air goes to the olfactory epithelium, which lies high up in the back of the nose, to stimulate it optimally. In order to avoid further dilution of the presented air, an olfactometer should at least deliver the amount of air taken in during sniffing (1.8-3.6 ar/h). Furthermore, the sniffing part of the olfactometer should be wide enough to permit the nose to be completely in the stream of air coming out of it. If a tight mask is used which fits the face to the outlet of the olfactometer, good care should be taken to permit free sniffing behaviour and to avoid pressure changes during sniffing or expiration which exceed 5 mbar. Since olfactometers are designed to deliver different concentrations around the threshold and subjects may differ considerably in their sensitivity, the olfactometer should be able to deliver at least 5 concentrations varying over a range of 2 . It should be able to present these concentrations shortly one after another. In view of the adsorption that will take place in all parts of the olfactometer the parts that are in contact with flows of varying concentration should be as short as possible and should have a rather high volume to wall ratio. Only in this way, will it be possible to reach a sorptive equilibrium within the short time (1 min) between stimuli of different concentrations. Furthermore, the olfactometer should be able to deliver the above mentioned ranges of stimuli over a wide range of dilution ratios (from 1 to 10 ) in order to cover the variability of human sensitivity to different substances. Such a range may still be too small in some cases. If so, provisions for predilution may be required. Finally, it will be clear that both the dilution air and the ambient air in which the measurement takes place should be odour free. Although this may seem quite obvious, in many cases this requirement is not fulfilled. Either the dilution air has an intrinsic smell which is insufficiently filtered out or parts of the olfactometer give off an odour. Thus, contact of the dilution air to be delivered to the nose with pumps, ventilators, valves etc. should be avoided as much as possible. Many materials which have no smell when installed in the olfactometer, may acquire a smell in use. To some odorants plastics may act as a sponge or may be completely permeable. Such combinations should be avoided and since, in industrial situations, it is hard to predict what odorant substances will be encountered, anything less safe than high quality teflon or stainless steel should be avoided in olfactometers. But perhaps it is even more difficult to find clean ambient air. In a well ventilated room there may still be a rather high odour concentration, especially when the odorous air coming from the olfactometer during stimulation is allowed to enter it. Since the human nose adapts to odours to such an extent that after a short while in an odorous environment one does not notice the odour anymore, both the experimenter and the panel member to be tested may be unaware of the room smell. Nevertheless, it is possible that such a smell influences the threshold found to a large extent (a factor 2 to 3 could easily be found). In principle, an olfacometer should be constructed in such a way that its outflow does not stay in the testing environment, but is evacuated. No portable olfactometer built sofar meets this requirement.

88
Even some laboratory olfactometers are not well equipped In this regard. 3. METHODOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS Simple as it may seem, detecting an odour is in itself a more complicated psychological process than many people realise. It can easily be shown that differences in methodology may lead to considerable variations (a factor 3 to 5) in the detection thresholds found. Therefore, selection of the best method and standardization are important in improving the validity and reliability of sensory measurements. Human subjects are not very good at making absolute judgements. If one asks them to compare two stimuli, they do much better. This is one of the reasons why choice procedures should be preferred over single stimulus procedures. In a single stimulus (or yes-no) procedure the subject is presented with one stimulus at a time and has to indicate whether or not the stimulus has a certain property(in odour detection whether it has an odour or not). In choice procedures the subject gets at least two stimuli, one of which has the property to be judged and the subject is asked to compare them and to indicate which of the two has the property (to a larger degree). Usually with such procedures the subject has to make a decision, even if he feels very insecure or is merely guessing. In that case the procedure is called a forced-choice procedure. Such a procedure has an advantage over the yes-no method, because it eliminates what is called conservative response bias in signal detection theory. Signal detection theory states that in all detection situations the subject is faced with the burden of deciding whether the sensation he perceives is stemming from internal noise of his nervous system or from an external stimulus. The human sensory systems all have a certain amount of spontaneous activity which forms a background noise in perception situations. The intensity of this noise is normally distributed and will at times be quite so strong as to give the impression of an external stimulus. One can easily check this. If one closes his eyes at night and stays alert, one may often see short flashes of light that are the result of this spontaneous activity. In threshold measuring situations small signals are presented and at times when the internal noise is low, the total impact of the noise plus signal may be lower than that of the strongest noise alone. In such a case the subject may say no to a presentation containing the signal (a miss) and yes to a presentation in which only the strong noise was present (a false alarm). In signal detection theory such mistakes are considered to be the logical consequence of the fact that the normal distribution of the sensation caused by the noise alone and that of the sensations caused by signal plus noise overlap to a considerable degree (see figure 1 ) . Signal detection theory supposes that the subject, when faced with this situation, sets his own criterion and chooses an intensity of sensation above which he will say yes (at the risk of giving false alarms) and below which he will say no (at the risk of making misses). Even if the subject makes the most sensible choice, putting his criterion at CI in figure 1, he will still make a number of false alarms and misses. If, in this case, the experimenter tells him that at times he is giving positive responses to odourless presentations (false alarms) the subject will be induced to shift his criterion to the right (C2). As a result he will very seldomly give a false alarm, but at the same time he will say no to more than half of the odorous stimuli presented to him. In other words, he develops a conservative response bias. Such a conservative response bias will shift the threshold upwards and will give

89
N S+N

/ ' y i \ : i v
1
-3 *-|
SENSATION

\ \ \ \

"V

Figure 1. Distribution of the sensation strengths caused by Noise (N) and Signal plus Noise (S+N) according to Signal Detection Theory. Three hypothetical response criteria (C, and C,) set by the subject are indicated. a wrong impression of the subjects true sensitivity. In signal detection theory an elegant solution for determining the true sensitivity has been developed, but this can only be done at the cost of extensive measurement procedures involving very many presentations of both odour stimuli and blanks. Such a procedure is impractical in everyday applied research. Forced choice procedures do force the subject to use a very liberal criterion. Even if he is absolutely uncertain, he must still give his best guess. With such a procedure the subject really uses all of his resources and as a result the thresholds found with this procedure are usually lower than with a single yes-no method However, it should be remembered that in using forced choice, the percentages correct choices obtained should be corrected for guessing using the following formula:

Pobs - Pchance Pcorr 100 - Pchance in which Pcorr - Percentage corrected, Pob6 - Percentage observed and Pchange is the Percentage that would be obtained by mere guessing. If, in conclusion, forced choice methods give a better impression of the true sensitivity of the subject than yes-no methods, olfactometers should be equipped to make their use possible. This means that the subject should have access to at least two sniffing ports, one of which delivers the odorous air, whereas the other(s) do give pure air only. Another methodological consequence can be inferred from signal detection theory as well. In signal detection experiments it has been demonstrated, that the criterion the subject chooses is influenced by his expectations about the occurrence of a signal. If the signal is expected to occur frequently, he will be inclined to say yes more often (liberal criterion) than in the case he expects the signal to occur only rarely. x 100.

90
In signal detection experiments it has been demonstrated, that the criterion the subject chooses is influenced by his expectations about the occurrence of a signal. If the signal is expected to occur frequently, he will be inclined to say yes more often (liberal criterion) than in the case he expects the signal to occur only rarely. In determining thresholds with the yes-no method such expectations may play an important role. Varying the proportion of singnals ond blanks in successive experiments may lead to variation in the thresholds found. If theyes-no method is used, it is Important to keep the overall odour stimulus to blank ratio constant in all experiments, in order to keep the subjects' signal expectancy as constant as possible. 4. PANEL REQUIREMENTS The last set of requirements in olfactometry is concerned with the differences between panel members. People vary widely in their sensitivity. A factor of a 100 between the thresholds of two subjects for the same substance is not uncommon. For a number of substances, specific anosmia's or specific hyposmia's are found. In such cases a person has no sensitivity at all or a very high threshold for the given substance, but normal sensitivity to other substances (1). This is an illustration of the fact that sensitivity to odours is specific rather than general. This is also demonstrated by Punter (2,3) who determined the thresholds of 69 odorous substances for the same group of subjects and calculated the correlations between these thresholds (see figure 2 ) .

CORRELATION N-2348

COEFFICIENTS

88 ODORS

7_.218

Figure 2. Histogram of the correlation coefficients between the thresholds for 69 different odorous substances obtained from the same group of subjects (P.H. Punter).

91
The correlation coefficients changed from -.90 to 1.00 with a mean of .216. Even if specific groups of substances like the homologous series of the fatty-acids or a group of aromatics were singled out, the mean of the correlation coefficients rose only to .219 and .280 respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that sensitivity to one odour or to a given group of odours does not predict the subjects' sensitivity to other odours. This means that selection of panelmembers on the basis of their sensitivity to a number of standard odours is only valid in as far as it helps to eliminate general anosmics (people suffering from complete loss of smell) or general hyposmics. Furthermore, it will be clear that rather large groups of subjects are needed to obtain valid concentration values. For the determination of a representative threshold at least 20 subjects are needed. If on the other hand, one merely wants to make relative Judgements, as in the case where one makes pre- and posttests to measure the effect of installing washers or afterburners, a trained panel of 8 subjects or perhaps even 6 may suffice, provided the same subjects are used throughout the measurements. In view of the intraindividual variation in olfactory sensitivity, which may be quite considerable, a panel of six subjects would be the absolute minimum. Intraindividual variation in sensitivity may be due to the following sources: A. Wheather conditions: The day after a depression subjects in Holland are more sensitive than the days before. This may be due to the accompanying change in humidity. B. Illness: Common colds can influence sensitivity considerably as we all know, but other illnesses which are accompanied with a change of body temperature may act In this respect as well. Since the nose has a very generous bloodsupply, changes in this supply may influence olfaction also. C. Hormonal changes: Women are usually more senstive than men. They do acquire this superiority in part during the hormonal changes which take place around puberty. At the same time women start varying in sensitivity in relation to their menstrual cycle, being very sensitive at ovulation and less sensitive at menstruation. D. Adaptation: As pointed out earlier, adaptation or loss of sensitivity due to previous stimulation, is strong in the sense of smell and its effects are quite longlasting. If a person who lives in a polluted area comes back from holidays he or she may be much more sensitive to the surrounding odours as before, but he or she will soon loose this sensitivity again. E. Habituation: Habituation or loss of interest in monotonous stimulation may also be an important factor. The intensity of monotonous stimulation is usually estimated to be lower than that of single instances of the same physical intensityF. Novelty: When, after a series of a monotonous stimuli, another stimulus is presented the intensity of such a novel stimulus is usually overestimated. G. Contrast: The perceived intensity of a stimulus is often determined by the context in which it appears.

92
Of these influences, the last three do not affect olfactometrlc measurements to a large extent. In supra-threshold measurements, using scaling methods, they may play a very important role, however. 5. ODOUR UNITS AND PERCEIVED INTENSITY Since it is the object of olfactometry to give an indication of the perceived intensity of the odours in the environment, a general warning should be given as to the use of the concept of odour units/m . Even if the number of odour units/m is determined correctly, it does not give a direct indication of the perceived intensity as was already pointed out by Frijters (4). The slope of the curve which relates perceived odour intensity to the odour concentration may vary considerably from odour to odour. A schematic example is given in figure 2 for two substances A and B.

10

100

1,000

ODOUR CONCENTRATION

Figure 3. Relationships between odour concentrations intensity for two hypothetical substances (A and B ) .

and

perceived

According to Stevens law the logarithm of the perceived intensity is linearly related to the logarithm of the odour intensity. In the figure this relationship is given for two substances, one with a slope of 1.00 and one with a slope of .67. As can be seen from the figure, this means that an odour concentration of 100 odour units/m is related to very different perceived odour intensities for the two substances. This means that odour concentrations computed in odour units/m should not be used as an indication of perceived odour intensity, but can only be used in relative measurements where the effects of measures taken to reduce odour pollution are compared, or in studies where dispersion models are used to find the distance to the source at which threshold is reached.

93
REFERENCES (1) AMOORE, T.E., VENSTROM, D. and DAVIS, A.R. (1968) Measurement of specific anosmia. Percept. Motor Skills, 26, 1968, 143-164 (2) PUNTER, P.H., reported in: KBSTER, E.P. (1978) Onderzoek van de reukwaarneming. (3) PUNTER, P.H. (1983) Measurement of human olfactory thresholds for several groups of structurally related compounds. Chemical Senses, vol 7, nr 3/4, 215-235. (4) FRIJTERS, J.E.R. (197 8) A critical analysis of the odour number and its use. Chemical Senses and Flavour, vol 3, nr 2, 227-233.

94
EXPERIENCES WITH TRANSPORTABLE OLFACTOMETERS H. MANNEBECK Institut fur Landwirtschaftliche Verfahrenstechnik der Universitat Kiel

Summary Some experiences with development and application of portable and transportable olfactometers are presented. Investigations have been carried out to find differences in odour production of different stall compartments in pig breeding and fattening units. For getting more dates and decreasing the costs per measured sample it is necessary to increase the speed of measurement.

1.INTRODUCTION In the early 70's the increase of stock caused increasing problems with odour immissions from livestock farming. For a practicable research work in this field, a portable olfactometer was required to get objective results direct from the different odour emitting sources. Since that time portable and transportable types of olfactometers have been developed. Some of our experience concerning the application of portable and transportable olfactometers is presented in this paper. 2. PORTABLE AND TRANSPORTABLE OLFACTOMETERS; DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIENCE 2.1 THE EARLY OLFACTOMETER TYPE TO 4 In the beginning, a portable olfactometer operated only by one person was required to measure odour direct at the odour emitting sources in and around livestock houses. The early type TO 4 fulfilled both requirements. It is basically a respirator supplied with oxygen from commercial steel flasks or with 300 bar respirator air. A gas jet pump is driven by the oxygen from the flask via a pressure reducing valve. This pump sucks the odour loaded air via adjustable butterfly valves and flow meters and mixes it with the odourless oxygen. The mixture passes through a short pipe to the respirator mask. The flow of odourous air can be interrupted by a quickclosing handle to switch over from odourless oxygen to the adjusted dilution. The first years we used bigger masks covering nose and mouth. The user worked as panel leader and as panelist at the same time. Outdoors in an odourless area he had to start with the TO 4 connected to his nose, breathing only odourless oxygen. Then he entered the stall or the testing area for measurement. The mask could never be held completely tight, so this principal didn't deliver satisfying results. A smaller mask just covering the nose was fit to the TO 4 type and the equipment was used in an odourless athmosphere only. Suction pipes were used for direct measurement and sample bags in case of greater distances. The.iresults were much more satisfying than before. The TO 4 type has been in use for years and it was made commercially. Totally more than 150 olfactometers TO 4 were manufactured. Concerning the use of oxygen, pressed or synthetic air in flasks and gasjet pumps all further TO-types are based on this early TO 4 type.

95
2.2 MODIFIED TO 4 TYPE Caused in the far spreading of the TO 4 type the problems increased. Especially the results of measurement found out by different sers delivered big differences, and so did the results found out by different types of olfactometers. For this reason it became necessary to work out the guideline VDI 3881 (1). More experience in application of olfactometric technics and working out the guideline showed us a basic disadvantage of the TO 4 type: the panelist shouldn't be able to see the setting of the dilution level. Therefore the TO 4 type got some modifications. The mask was turned to the other side of the equipment and the TO 4 got an additional throttle valve and a flow selector, fig.l. That means, the panel leader is able to switch over from odourless air to the adjusted dilution and to a mixture of both which is twice as much diluted as the adjusted dilution.

reducing valve

odjustabte butterfly I n volve

gas |et control valve 1

synthetic air bottle (or oxygen]

snitting port

Synth air

TO4 modified

odour loaded air mixed air

FiR.l. Block diagram of the modified olfactometer TO 4 type Further the air flow to the mask got increased to2C00 litres per hour. This modified TO 4 type conforms to all requirements of the guideline VDI 3881 and it is still in use as a really portable olfactometer. It is operated by the panel leader while the panelists, mostly four or five, are changing. It needs an odourless area for the measurement and the capacity of a five litre 300 bar flask allows a max. operation time of about 20 min. and that means only three different samples. By using a 50 litre 200 bar flask the operation time increases to nearly 2,5 hours but in this case the system isn't really portable. 2.3 TO 6 TYPE To get positive results in the field of livestock keeping a lot of dates from different farms and statistical evaluation methods are required and the team is very costly. To get more dates and to decrease the costs per measured sample it is necessary to increase the speed of measurement as much as possible. Further a veryshort time for preparation is required. The modified TO 4 type couldn't fulfill these requirements. A new type had to be developed, fiR.2.

96
J.AC current
synthetic air bottle pressure reducing valve
=>E

magnetic valve

pressure control valve

pressure gauge

gas jet pump flowrate control valve ^ ^ flowmeter i 2

ii
flowrate control valve gas jet pump 2

> synthetic ojr bag I > mucd ar > odour loaded ar

measuring range *1 I I I selector

addtional sniffing port

port selector

M / l ,

H3
snitfrig port 3 sniffing port 4

sniff rig port

sniffing port 2

TO 6

Fig-2. Block diagram of the olfactometer TO 6 type The TO 6 type got two separate gas jet pumps, one for each measuring range and an el. m a g n . valve. A range selector does the same as the flow selector of the modified TO 4 type. The second stream is lead to an additional sniffing port which can be used by the panel leader. A port selector brings the main stream to one of four sniffing ports (masks), installed in four separate boxes. This equipment has been set up in a caravan. To set it vertical it is mounted to a ball and socket. Four panelists can take place in front of their masks. A sample bag can directly be connected to the olfactometer. The delay between sampling and measurement is only a few minutes. The dilution level is variable between 4 and 2048 in 10 steps. In case of higher odour concentrations the sample will be premixed 1 to 100. A keyboard operated responding system allows answers only within 10 s e c , otherwise the answer is set to "no". We found, that well-trained panelists will give a positive answer always within about three seconds. Later answers nearly always will be negative. All step numbers with positive answers are fed into a small micro computer for statistical evaluation conform to the guideline VDI 3881. Additionally the results from different samples can be compared. The caravan is equiped with an own propan gas operated electric power unit and the ventilation system is equiped with activated carbon filters to get an odourless athmosphere guaranteed. After arriving at a farm it takes less than five minutes to prepare the system for the first measurement. With a team of four well-trained panelists and three repetitions it takes only about six minutes per sample. Inclusive necessary breaks for the panelists and for changing the sample bags six measurements per hour are possible, but not more than about 20 samples per day.

97
3. APPLICATIONS 3.1 ODOUR FROM PIG KEEPING One of the main problems with intensive livestock keeping in villages and near to dwelling houses are the odour emissions. Especially for working out guidelines like VDI 3471 "Emission control, livestock management pigs" knowledges about odour production from different species of animal, different stall types and different types of kepping areas in a stall are very important. In the last time, investigations have been carried out by using the caravan with the olfactometer TO 6 type as described before. The main question was, whether pig breeding would produce less odour emissions per livestock unit than pig fattening. Pig breeding units normally are devided into different compartments: farrowing compartments, single ranging for sows, service station and flat deck batteries for piglets. Fattening houses mostly are devided into initial fattening and fishing. For olfactometric measurement samples from different compartments must be collected. The sample collecting procedure is an important factor for getting comparable results. 3.2 SAMPLE COLLECTING PROCEDURE The samples normally should be collected at the ventilation shaft, but sometimes it is impossible, because there are very high ridges. In this case the samples must be collected directly in the stall compartment where clothes will become very odourous. Therefore nobody of the team is permitted to collect samples in the stall. Using the sampling device has to be very easy, because each farmer must be able to do sampling without any routine. The sampling device in use is a 50 litre cylindrical container with a transparent cover. An empty 30 litre sample bag with a stainless steel pipe will be put into the container. The pipe is pushed through the cover. A PTFE tube will be fixed to the pipe to collect samples from different points. On the transparent cover a battery operated vacuum cleaner and a battery are mounted. Only by pressing a push button the sample is filled in about 10 seconds. By using this sampling device sampling doesn't make any problems. Tests with sampling pipes for dynamic sampling showed no significant differences to the used sampling system, because the time between sampling and measurement is very short. 3.3 MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS Up to now odour production of different pig house compartments has been measured on 15 farms under winter conditions. The most important dates to get comparable results are: odour intensity as dilution level Z50 (1)> ventilation air flow rate V and number of livestock units LU. The comparable emission level per livestock unit EL from each stall compartment will be: vi - Z50 x LU
V

Fig.3 shows the results of the measurement under winter conditions. It was demonstrated with high significance that pig breeding in the average produces half as much odour as pig fattening.

98

15'

10-

average fattening

o
O

3 U)

5-

x average breeding

stall type
FIG.3. Odour production of pig breeding and pig fattening Very important differences between different stall compartments could be figured out. We found special differences between different ventilation control systems. The extremely high odour production in some flat decks are only peaks, because the fans are switched on and off. During the "offtime" the odour intensity in the stall increases and in the beginning of the "on-time" there will be a peak of odour. Olfactometric measurement turned out to be a practicable method to value odour emissions from livestock keeping. Especially buildings, keeping systems and equipment can be optimized concerning a minimum of odour emissions.

REFERENCES (1) VDI 3881 Blatt 1 - 3 Entwurf: Olfaktometrie; Technik der Geruchsschwellenbestimmung. 1984

99
DISPERSION MODELS FOR EMISSIONS FROM AGRICULTURAL SOURCES G.-J. MEJER and K.-H. KRAUSE Institut fur landtechnische Grundlagenforschung der Bundesforschungsanstalt flir Landwirtschaft

Summary The aim of dispersion models is the prediction of atmospheric dilution of pollutants in order to prevent or avoid nuisance. Established dispersion models, designed for the large scale of industrial air pollution have to be modified to the small scale of agricultural pollutions. An experimental setup is described to measure atmospheric dilution of tracer gas under agricultural conditions. The experimental results deliver the data base to identify the parameters of the models. For undisturbed airflow modified Gaussian models are applicable. For the consideration of obstacles more sophisticated models are necessary.

1. INTRODUCTION The aim of dispersion models is to develop reliable methods for calculating the atmospheric dilution of airborne pollutants under practical conditions. One application in agriculture is the determination of that distance, at which i.g. odouriferous pollutants of an animal farm are diluted in the atmosphere to a concentration below a certain threshold, in order to allow the farmer a profitable production and likewise to prevent odour nuisance from the neighbourhood. Another application is the prediction of the effectiveness of changes in the emission source configuration, in order to reduce the odour nuisance in the existent vicinity. That could help to avoid expensive misinvestments. In air pollution control it is usefull to subdivide this large problem into three main divisions /!/, fig. 1:
Emission Quelle Luftbewegung

Transmission Verdunnung

Immission Belastigung

Fig^ 1. Emission-Transmission-Immission of airborn pollutants. Quelle = source, Luftbewegung = atmospheric flow, Verdunnung dilution, Belastigung = nuisance.

100
- the emission; this is the entrance of the airborne pollutants into the open atmosphere. The local position of this entrance is the emission source, - the transmission, including all phenomena of transport, dispersion and dilution in the open atmosphere, - the immission; this is the entrance of the pollutant into an acceptor. As we are regarding odoriferous pollutants, the immisson is their entrance into a human nose. About air pollution from industrial emission sources, i.g. S02 from power plants, a wide knowledge is available, including sophisticated methods of emission measurement, atmospheric diffusion calculation and measurement of immission concentration in the ambient air. In most countries we have complete national legal regulations, concerning limitation of air contaminent emissions, calculation of stack height and at least evaluation and determination of maximum immission values. Within this situation the question arises, whether these well proved methods and devices are suitable for agricultural odour emissions from agricultural sources too. It is well known that all calculations and values, established in air pollution control, are based on large sets of data, obtained by a multitude of experiments and observations. The attempt to apply these established dispersion models to agricultural emission sources, leads to unreasonable results. A comparison in table 1 shows that the large scale values of industrial air pollutions, on which the established dispersion models are based, are too different from those in agriculture. In order to modify the existing dispersion models or to design other types of models, we need the corresponding sets of observations and of experimental data, adequate to the typical agricultural conditions. There are already a lot of investigations to measure odour at the source and in the ambient air. But we all know about the reliability of those measurements and about the difficulties to quantify these results adequate to a computer model calculating the relation between emission and immision depending on various influences and parameters. So we decided to supplement the odour measurements by tracer gas measurements easy to realise with high accuracy. The aim is to get the necessary sets of experimental data for the modification of existing dispersion models for agricultural conditions. 2. INSTRUMENTAL 2.1 EMISSION The published guideline VDI 3881 /2-4/ describes, how to measure odour emissions for application in dispersion models. Results obtained by this method have to be completed with physical data like flow rates etc. As olfactometric odour threshold determination is rather expensive, it is supplemented with tracer gas emissions, easy to quantify. In the mobile tracer gas emission source, fig. 2, up to 50 kg propane per hour are diluted with up to 1 000 m3 air per hour. This blend is blown into the open atmosphere. The dilution device, including the fan, can be seperated from the trailer and mounted at any place, e.g. on top of a roof to simulate the exaust of a pig house or in the middle of a field to simulate undisturbed air flow. 2.2 TRANSMISSION For safety reasons, propane concentration at the source is always below the lower ignition concentration of 2,1 %. As the specific gravity of this emitted propane-air-blend is very close to that of pure air (difference less than 0,2%) and as flow parameters can be chosen in a wide range, we assume

101
flow rate E-concentration rel. odourconcentration c pollutant flow rate o source height mVh mg/m3 odour unit kg/h m industrial 60 103*3 106 400*2 000 (SO2) 1 000f100 000(TBA) 150t5 000 (SO2) 15*300 known chem./phys. automatic km 1*1 000 macro no standardized h 0,5*24 chem./phys. standardized agricultural 103*104 0,1*1 100*1 000 < 0,01 0*15 unknown olfactometric 5-15 panelists 0,01*1 micro yes unknown 0,001*0,5 nose individual

E chem. composition LU E-measuring device E-measuring procedure scale meteorological o influence w t/J consideration E (/> of obstacles e (d diffusionS1 coefficient
E

t/> (/J

evaluation c interval o I-measuring l / l device

reliablitity of measurements

Table 1. Some characteristic values of industrial and of agricultural air pollution.

Fig. 2. Mobile tracer gas emission source. a fan f flexible gas pipe e dilution tunnel n propane gas cylinder

102 that the atmospheric diffusion of this blend is equal to that of odourpolluted air from agricultural emission sources. In a first step the dispersion in an undisturbed atmospheric flow was measured. In a second step the dispersion in an atmospheric flow with obstacles is designated. In a third step the dispersion in the neighbourhood of real farm buildings is intended. 2.3 IMMISSION 2.3.1 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF TRACER GAS CONCENTRATION To obtain multiple sets of experimental dispersion data, in each experiment 50 samples of tracer-polluted ambient air downwind in the plume of the propane emission source are taken by 10 sample units, distributed in the field, see fig. 3. Each unit carries five glass cylinders, filled with

rtL^J

/
\

Fig. 3. Experimental setup for field measurements without obstacles. water and connected with small tubes to the different immission sample heights, see fig. 4. Passing a throttle and a solenoid valve, the water flows down by the force of gravity into a tank, thus sucking the sample air into the glass cylinders. At the end of each experiment, these air samples are analysed in a flame ionisation detector (FID). The FID response signal is not selective to propane but to all hydrocarbons. For compensation of the actual ambient background HC-concentration one sample unit is placed in a position (c), unpolluted by the propane source (a). As the sample time is set to 2-10 minutes by adjustment of the water flow throttle, this experimental setup delivers time mean values, as usual in immission monitoring as well as in established dispersion models. 2.3.2 TEMPORAL FLUCTUATION OF TRACER GAS CONCENTRATION Observations of smoke plumes, first brief tests and some papers /5, 6/ suggest that the immission concentration is fluctuating in a wide range near the source. Human nose is more sensitive to odour concentration fluctuation than, due to adaption, to constant odour concentration. In fig. 5 it is shown qualitativly that odour perception may occur due to concentration fluctuations although the mean value is far below the odour threshold. In table 1 it is indicated that the distance between agricultural emission sources and receptor is relatively small in relationship to industrial

103
emissions.

Fig. 4. Sample unit. a sample in take e water pipe b sample conduct f tank c valves g throttle d glass cylinders h solenoid valve.

Zeitanteile mit Geruchswahrnehmung

Qeruchs velle

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of relative odour concentration versus time Geruchswahrnehmung = odour perception Geruchsschwelle = odour threshold Mittelwert = mean value Ref.: MEDROW and JORGENS /6/.

Zeit

As grade and frequency of fluctuation are also dependent on this distance, the effect of odour concentration fluctuation must be quantified in this range by reliable measurements and taken into consideration in the dispersion models for agricultural emission sources. Fig. 6 shows the experimental setup to measure and register concentration fluctuation in the field. The FID device is mounted on a wheelbarrow to reach any position in the field. The ambient air is continuously pumped

104

-Mast (wahlweise)-

FID

&

Registrier Gerdt

Fig. 6. Experimental setup to measure and record concentration fluctuation, wahlweise = optional through the FID and propane pollution is on-line analysed and digitally recorded. The response time of the FID is about one second, comparable to the response time of the human nose. From this experimental setup, we expect detailed information how the influence of fluctuation has to be evaluated, how important it is under different diffusion conditions and how it can be taken into consideration in dispersion models. 3. THEORETICAL BACKROUND FOR POLLUTION PREDICTION The three-dimensional transport equation for inert pollutant dispersion results from time-smoothing the equation of continuity of the emitted substance. In Cartesian coordinates the distribution of a pullutant is given by the partial differential equation of second order for the concentration C(x,y,z,t) PI:

M+

^x

+ V

3y

+ W

"5z

*x'

(K, 3C } +

x 5x

37(Ky ffl

a c <

3 z u z 5z ;

d iv

3C\

(3.1)

x, y, z are coordinates, t is time. It is assumed that an elevated continuous point source at height H is emitting into a semi-infinite atmosphere above the ground, discribed by the x-y-plane at z = 0. The z-axis extends vertically to the ground. The origin of the coordinate system is at the ground level beneath the source location. The wind has components U, V and w parallel to the x-, y- and z-axis. K x , Ky and K z are the eddy diffusivities in the corresponding directions. Data on the wind field and on the diffusion are the meteorological inputs required by an atmospheric transport model. In order to make the transport model adaptable to measurement results some simplifications are used. Vertical and lateral components of wind are neglible, the mean transport velocity U in x-direction is steady; the pollutant transfer by advection in the drift direction is greater than by

105
turbulent diffusion; at the ground total reflection is assumed. For the case that the concentration at any point in space is independent of t and that the diffusivities are independent of x, y and z the simplified diffu sion equation of the Ktherory /8/ becomes
U

32C 82C 33T = K y ay + K, "5?"

(3.2).

With the boundary conditions

atz = 0 : f =0
a t ixi , iyi ,
IZI

(3.3a), -i- : C -< 0 (3.3b),

the condition of continuity at x > 0 : / / U C dy dz = C 0 V (3.3c),

the product C 0 V of the source concentration C 0 and the volume emission rate V stands for the strength of the point source, and with the initial condition Cn V at x = 0: C = i 6(y) 6(zH) (3.3d), 6(y) and 6(zH) are Dirac delta functions, equation (3.2) has the well known analytical solution /9/, /10/ (x j * 0) D D. ' C(x.y.z) = exp(i) e x p ( ) + exp ( ) with
C V

(3.4)

Uy2

n u

4TIAV KZ

. U(Hz) 2 4T^~

U(H+z) 2 4K,

(3.4a,b,c,d).

Problems arise to get informations about the diffusion coeffients K and K . If equation (3.4) is interpreted as Gaussian distribution, a lot ofyavailalf le dispersion data can be taken into consideration because they are expres sed in terms of standard deviations of the concentration distribution. Though there is no theoretical justification the Gaussian plume formula is converted to the Ktheory expression by the transformation /11/ U U o|(x) Ky(x) = a 2 (x) and K z (x) = (3.5a,b).

These are contradictory modifications of the basic assumption; the constant diffusivities are now functions of the distance from the emission source and of the stability of the atmosphere. The success in the application of the Gaussian plume model may be justification enough.

106
AK I II F
1,294 0,801 0,640 0,659 0,876 1,503

f
0,718 0,754 0,784 0,807 0,823 0,833

G
0,241 0,264 0,215 0,165 0,127 0,151

g
0,662 0,774 0,885 0,996 1,108 1,219

m
0,419 0,369 0,282 0,223 0,205 0,089

I V V

III-1 III-2

Ak 5 4 3 2

F
0,25 1.19 0,82 0,94

Fo 194 354 198 168

f
0,72 0,67 0,74 0,76

G
0,69 0,60 0,09 0,08

Go 48 42 12 12

9
0,59 0,74 1,11 1,28

m
0,40 0,28 0,22 0,11

Table 2. Coefficients of diffusivity dependent on stability classes after Klug and Turner; m stands for the exponent in the power law of wind velocity. However, we must keep in mind the limitations of this approach, especially the transfer of consistent sets of dispersion parameters to the propagation of air pollution in the vicinity of a source. The Gaussian plume formula should be used only for those downwind distances for which the empirical diffusion coefficients have been determined by standard diffusion experiments. Because we are interested in emissions near ground level and immissions nearby the source, we use those diffusion parameters which are based on the classification of Klug /12/ and Turner /13/. The parameters are expressible as power functions, o y (x) = F x f and o z (x) = G x 9 after Klug c (x) = (FQ + F x ) and a z (x) = (GQ + G x ) after Turner
f g

(3.6a,b), (3.7a,b).

The parameter classification after Klug is determined by six stability classes (with the German abbreviation AK for Ausbreitungsklasse), reaching from extreme stable (AK I) to extreme labile TAK V ) . In the Turner stability scheme AK 5 denotes extreme stable, AK 2 extreme labile, see table 2. An estimate of the stability can be made from synoptical observations of solar radiation, cloud cover and wind velocity /14/. With the parameters after Klug equation (3.4) becomes
C(x,y,z) = a x ' ^ e x p C - b x " ^ ) wherein
C V

[exp(-d 0 x _ 2 g ) + exp(-d 1 x" 2 9)]

(3.8),

2TT

o UFG '

= p-.

(z-H)' 2G<

(z+H)2

(3.9a,b,c,d).

107 In the mean direction, y = 0, the first exponential expression gives (exp(-x" 2f )) b = 1 for b = 0 and all x > 0. Equation (3.8) is reduced to C(x.y,z) = ax" ( f *9 J [exp(-d0x"2g) + exp(-d lX " 2g )] (3.10). The essential behaviour of the transport model in the vicinity of the source can be discussed by the equation (3.10), searching for the maximum concentration in direction of the centerline, dC/dx = 0. From equation (3.11) the distance x > 0 is computable at which maximum concentration occurs:
2gd

T?f

[1

d, d-d. exp( )]

i2g

-^P+^Pt-^g )]

d -d, 1

<3.11).

At ground level, z = 0 and d Q = d1 = ^ - , x m a x becomes H2 x max = "ZG r (3.13). Establishing the values at the emission level z = H, d = 0 and d. =H 2 /G Z , x max can be calculated from tne following relationship

exp (- - J L - )
2gH*
b x

TTV

G x' max by iteration methods. If it is assumed that the exponential expression is < 1, equation (3.14) reduces to

x 1 + exp (. ff_ ! } 9 = max

max

2g

,, ...

(3.14)

"max " k^W exP (- T l V ^

max that means
x

< 3 - 15) ;

1 } " xmax (z=0) P e x P ( XT ^ < 3 .16). 2 max G ' x ^ (z=H) For the ratio of concentration at the ground to that at the plume centerline at emission-level the relationship max max
(z=H)

c(x,y0.z*0) . Z e x p ( - ^ f f i )

clx.y-U.z-HJ " ,+ exp(. f|a,

<3'17>

can be obtained. At the distance of maximum ground-level concentration the concentration at z = H is about one-half greater than the concentration at ground, when AK = II is chosen. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION From several field experiments of measuring the concentration distribution in the vicinity of an emission source one example is selected for

108
demonstration, see fig. 7. Gas is released at the emission point x = 30 m, y = 15 m and z = 2 m at a volume rate of 400 m 3 /h; this volume rate is required in summertime per unit of livestock (in German: GroBvieheinheit, 1 GV = 500 kg live weight) for ventilation of pighouses; Tt is an average measure. Fig. 7 shows the isopleths of the dimensionsless concentration ratio C/C at the immission level z = 3 m. The mean wind speed U is 2,6 m/s. The arrows give the range of the altering wind direction; the mean wind direction is 161 degree. At the source we have C/C 0 = 1011. A maximum of nondimensional concentration is found in the downwind distance of about 30 m from the point source.
,C/Cp, Coi2,17599vpm z = 3m

=^30

Fig. 7. Isopleths of concentration ratio C/C 0 = 0,1; 0,3; 1,0; and 3,0 from measured field data in the x-y-plane at z = 3 m; point source Q is located at x = 30 m, y = 15 m, z = 2 m. The curves at the other levels are of similar trends. This can be seen from cuts perpendicular to the x-y-plane of fig. 7. In fig. 8 the contours are illustrated in the y-z-plane at x = 15 m and in fig. 9 the contours are demonstrated in the x-z-plane at y = 45 m. It is obvious that peak concentration ratios are measured nearby y = 45 m in fig. 8 and nearby x = 15 m in fig. 9 one upon another. The greatest value can be found at the emission level at z = 2 m with C/C 0 = 3,45. The nondimensional concentration decreases to the ground and to the height with regard to the emission level. Looking at equation (3.17) this is expressed by theory, too. It must be mentioned that the horizontal planes are covered with an equaldistant grid of 15 m - width, while in the vertical planes the z-distance step of 1 m is enlarged by the factor 15 in the plots of fig. 8 and fig. 9. A vertical cut of the C/C0-distribution is given in fig. 10 at z = 3 m. Here the Gaussian model is used with parameters after Klug and Turner. A comparison with the maximum location of fig. 7, 8, 9 shows that the concentration ratio of 3 in fig. 10 is calculated for x =30 mby means of the stable diffusion categories after Klug. The concentration ratio is undervalued when parameters are used after Turner. It 1is remarkable that the decay of C/C 0 is in the order of magnitude of lO" " at the downwind distance of 60 m.

109
C/C0.Ci= 2,17599 vpm 0.05' 1 2.71' x = 15m 2.07

0.05

r i

0.05'

1
3.26 -T 45 m
r

1
\ ~0.05

Fig. 8. Isopleths of concentration ratio C/C 0 in the yzplane at x = 15 m (at the grid points measured data)

2.39

2.62'

3.22-1- _ J 2.62,
60

'"

0 C/Ca.

30 y C0 = 2.17599 vpm "2.71 0J7

15

y=5m

1
^1
k

Fig. 9. Isopleths of concentration ratio C/C 0 in the xzplane at y = 45 m (at the grid points measured data)

'Ml

'0.23

^0.05

'W5

0.18

3.26

\u
"0,05

I
100 50

^3.22/

30

45

60

n m-i

Fig. 10. Plot of downwind concen tration ratio C/C0 against distance; C/C0 is calcu lated by means of the Gaussian plume model with diffusion coefficients after Klug (AK = I, .... V) and Turner (AK = 2 5)
5

AKziX.

sss~~ 2

X
/3 /I
30
=

ET^^^

0 . 1

110
In the special case shown here, the Gaussian plume model does not predict the location of the maximum concentration in agreement with the experiment, but it is appropriate to determine the concentration decay in downwind direction. That what happens between the point source location and the maximum location is of accademic interest only. A question for practical purpose is how we can get information about the maximum location, where from the model is realistic. From equation (3.13) we can deduct a rough approximation of the location where maximum ground-level concentration occurs. It is argued that the turbulent diffusion acts more and more on the emitted substances, when the distance from the point source increases: therefore the downwind distance dependency of the diffusion coefficients is done afterwards. If we drop this dependency, equation (3.13) leads to Xma X = 34,4 m for AK = I (curve a) and xmax = 87,7 m for AK = V (curve b ) , what is demonstrated in fig. 11. The interpolated ranges of measured values are lined in. Curve a overestimates the nondimensional concentration maximum, but its location seems to be correct. In the case of curve b the situation is inverted. Curve c is calculated with the data of AK = II. The decay of the nondimensional concentration is predicted well behind the maximum. Curve d is produced with F = 12,1, f = 0,069, G = 0,04 and g = 1,088. The ascent of concentration is acceptable, but that is all, because there is no explanation of plausibility how to alter the diffusivity parameters. Therefore it must be our aim to find a suitable correction in connection with the meteorological input data.

Wc
75
-.^^ a

i? 5

25

u
/

^ /
L

1 ^
50
75

d^~~~~~

25

100

Fig. 11. Calculated C/C0-distributions for curve a) F = 1,294, G = 0,241, curve b) F = 1,503, G = 0,151, curve c) F = 0,801, G = 0,264, curved) F = 12,10, G = 0,040,

different diffusivity parameters, f = 0,500, g = 0,500 f = 0,500, g = 0,500 f = 0,754, g = 0,774 f = 0,069, g = 1,088.

One way may be that we do not neglect diffusivity Kx in x-direction. Equation (3.2) must be extended by K x 3 2 C/3x 2 on the right side. Turbulent diffusivity is no property of material, it is a function of the wind field. Therefore we must make use of all information we can get about the wind field. The mean wind speed is one characteristic measure of the atmospheric

Ill velocity field; another one is given by the fluctuation u1 in form of the turbulence degree Tu = /u' 2 /U. F or y = 0 and z = 0 the concentration relationship is modified, C V H a o * x H* Herein we have assumed x H*

irzw<i

< 4 - 2 >-

a x may be related to the turbulence degree Tu; in the used example Tu = 0,243. By o x the concentration of equation (4.1) is reduced. We will see if there exists any usable form o x = f(Tu,x). 5. CONCLUSIONS Field measurements were made to get information about the concentra tion distribution nearby emission sources. In contrast to industrial emissions the source height is given by few meters only in agriculture. In accordance to industrial experiences prediction models hold for point sources of low height, too, especially the Gaussian plume model applied here. But it is necessary to get meteorological data with regard to the determination of the concentration maximum at different levels. This can be done by the presented way of concentration measurement. There is a lack of experimental data to give an accurate correction of the diffusivity parameters. Furthermore we have to prove the influence of obstacles nearby the emission source. Such obstacles will induce mechanical turbulence to the wind turbulence. In large scale simulation such effects are parameterized; the turbulence influence is collected in general diffusion coefficients. In the small scale of the source vicinity this method is still questionable. It is indubitable that in mechanically undisturbed wind flow the ex pansion mechanism is always the same, "merely" the boundary conditions at ground level are more obvious for the tested emission heights. The dilution factor after 60 m is about 2 10"* at a wind speed of 2,5 m/s. REFERENCES (1) VDI 2450 Blatt 1: Messen von Emission, Transmission und Immission luftverunreinigender Stoffe, Begriffe, Definitionen, Erlauterungen. Sept. 1977. (2) VDI 3881 Blatt 1 Entwurf: Olfaktometrische Technik der Geruchsschwel lenbestimmung, Grundlagen. November 1983. (3) VDI 3881 Blatt 2 Entwurf: Probenahme fr die Geruchsschwellenbestim mung mit dem Olfaktometer. (4) VDI 3881 Blatt 3 Entwurf: Messen der Geruchsschwelle mit den Olfakto metern Model 1 1158 und T04. (5) KEDDIE, A.W.C.: Prediction of odour nuisance. Chem. and Ind. Lond. (1984) 9, S. 323326. (6) MEDROW, w. and C. JORGENS: Die Simulation der Geruchsausbreitung. StaubReinhalt. Luft 44 (1984) S. 475479. (7) PASQUILL, F.: Atmospheric diffusion. New York: J. Wiley 1974. (8) SHIR, C.C., L.J. SHIEH: A generalized urban air pollution model and its application to the study of SO2 distributions in the St. Louis metropolitan area. J. Appl. Meteorology 13 (1974), S. 185204.

112
(9) HEINES, T.S., L.K. PETERS: An analytical investigation of effect of a first order chemical reaction on the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Atmospheric Environment 7 (1972) S. 153-162. (10) CARSLAW, H.S., J.C. JAEGER: Conduction of heat in solids. Oxford: Claredon Press 1959. (11) SCHNBUCHER, A., V. SCHELLER: Ausbreitung von Abgasfahnen. Chem.-Ing. Techn. 53 (1981) Nr. 5, S. 320-334. (12) KLUG, W.: Ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung der Ausbreitungsbedingungen aus synoptischen Beobachtungen. Staub-Reinhalt. Luft 29 (1966) Nr. 4, S. 143-147. (13) TURNER, D.B.: Workbook of atmospheric dispersion estimates. Public Health Service Publication No. 999-AP-26. Washington: Department of Health, Education and Welfare 1969. (14) RdErl. d. Ministers fr Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales vom 14.4.1975, Verwaltungsvorschriften zum Genehmigunqsverfahren nach 6, 15 - Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz (BImSchG) fr Mineralraffinerien und petrochemische Anlagen zur Kohlenwasserstoffherstellung (Raffinerie-Richtlinie) Ministerialblatt fur das Land NordrheinWestfalen, Jahrgang 1975, Nr. 65, S. 996-1007.

113
EXPERIENCES WITH OLFACTOMETERS J.V. Klarenbeek Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Summary Odour measurements in agriculture have been conducted by the Institute of Agricultural Engineering for a number of years. During this time various olfactometers have been used. It was found that the airflow of the olfactometer is one of the major parameters effecting the results. Futhermore frequent calibration of the olfactometers in use is advisable.

1. INTRODUCTION Despite the technical advances in the past decade, no apparatus for measurement of the odour strength has been developed. Therefore, odour pollution studies cannot be performed without using human noses. In general, the efect of polluting odours can be studied either by direct assessment in the ambient air or by means of a dispersion calculation. The first method requires a number of observers to be placed in the vincinity of the odour source (3,7). The latter a dispersion model and an input value. For reasons of simplicity this method is most frequently used in the Netherlands. The input value of the dispersion model represents the "odour load" as established by a psychophysical experiment. The experiment relates a human sensation to a physical quantity. The human sensation to be recorded usually encompasses questions concerning the detectability, the intensity or the quality of the odour. In the case of odour pollution, the physical quantity is often expressed as the dilution number or the relative concentration. To perform a psychophysical experiment, frequently referred to as an odour measurement, one needs one or more observers and a dilution apparatus. This apparatus is called an olfactometer. Odour measurements in agriculture have been carried out by the Institute of Agricultural Engineering (IMAG) for a number of years. During this time different olfactometers have been used. The experiences gained by approximately 600 experiments will be discussed in the following paragraphs. 2. EXPERIMENTS AND EXPERIENCES IMAG odour experiments are performed using odour samples collected in 60 1. bags made of Teflon FEP type 200A, Teflon FEP type 400A or Kapton type 100F99. The storage time of the samples is limited to 24 hours. After that, decay of odour strength and quality may occur (9). The first experiments were dedicated to poultry house odours. Using a single sniffing port olfactometer, as descriped by Mannebeck (8), and a panel of five observers, odour measurements were performed within the

114
framework of a research comparing the emission of three housing systems. All panel members were employed by the Institute of Poultry Research at Beekbergen. Due to the limited dimensions of experimentation room, panel members were asked to smell one at the time. Prior to experimentation, the olfactometer was modified so that panel members could not read the flowmeters or see its operation by the experimenter (fig. 1 ) . The olfactometer can be classified as a variable flow type. Average flowrate was 3 1/min. Dilution air was obtained from a cylinder filled with with medical grade compressed air. Research result using criterion free methods as well as threshold methods are descriped by respectively Frijters et al. (2) and Klarenbeek et al. (5). Although applied procedures and results were satisfactory, it was felt after completion of the research programm that a double sniffing port olfactometer should be used for further experimentation. This enables the use of paired comparison tests. Futhermore, the observers uncertainty is well defined. As a result of these views a second single sniffing port olfactometer was purchased and installed next to the existing one. The resulting distance between the two sniffing ports was approx. 25 centimetres. With the "new" olfactometer a research program was carried out concerning odour emissions of six different pig housing systems. As with the previous research, five observers and compressed diluting air medical grade were used. Due to the fact that pig houses are more odorous than poultry houses more dilution air was needed to reach detection levels. Average flowrate was therefore 5 1/min. The observations continued for over a year. The research results show a difference in odour emission which can be related to the slotted floor area (5). As the pig house odour research continued, it became clear that the one observer procedure is time consuming. Only two odour measurements per day were possible. Futhermore, panel members observed a stress which was caused by the noise of the olfactometers. Therefore it was decided to order a set of three double sniffing port low noise olfacometers at the University of Utrecht. The Psychological Laboratory of this university had some experience in the construction of olfactometers. The flowrate was set at 10 1/min arbitrary. After a considerable construction time the olfactometers became available for use. With these olfactometers and a recently created sniffing room at the IMAG premises, the poultry house odour research was repeated with a panel of eight observers. The necessary diluting air was obtained from a rotary vane compressor. Filtration of the compressed air was applied. The experimental procedures made it possible to use all panel members at the time. As a result, two experimenters were able to complete four odour measurements per day. Since more observers are brought together in the same room, possibility excists of obtaining non verbal information on the decisions made by others. However, it was felt that this was no serious drawback. Usefull information can only be obtained when the performance of preceding panel members is reveiled instantly. This was not the case. The relative odour levels of the investigated housing systems (6) shows simular results as in the first research program. However, absolute odour levels were higher. This was explained by the higher flowrates of the present olfactometer. As mentioned three olfactometers were ordered. Unfortunately spare parts were not included. As it turned out spares became necessarry soon.

115
Therefore one olfactometer was dismantled. Although present procedures made four measurements per day possible, two experimeters were required. In order to reduce costs it was decided to automate the sniffing process. As a result a Hewlett Packard 85 computer and a specially build process interface were added to the remaining olfactometers. This made it possible to have 8 dilution levels in 3 repetions presented to a maximum of 35 observers in random order. Collection of the observations is also handled by the HP 85. With the automated olfactometer 10 panel members and one experimenter can complete an odour measurement in 40 to 50 minutes. If necessary, the results can be known witin 5 minutes after the last observation has been made. The automated olfactometer has been used since 1983. The results are satisfying. Observers are selected by a local temporary employment office. Although sniffing is not a very inspiring duty it has been observed that panelmembers tend to stay. Only 30 to 40 % of the panel members have left in due course. This eliminates the variations often encoutered when a panel is drasticly changed or renewed. Comparison of recent results with previous ones is therefore justified. Futhermore it ensures the experimenter of a permanently trained group of observers. In 1983 the ministry of housing, planning and environmental hygiene requested a comparative research between the olfactometer used in the mentioned pig house research, the present one and an olfactometer in use by the organisation of applied physics in the Netherlands. The research was carried out using samples of a mushroom compost production site as well as samples of two pig houses. All three odour sources were investigated previously. As it turned out, the recorded odour levels were 5-10 times higher than before. Since this result was not accepted by the experimenter recalibration of the olfactometers and an inspection were carried out. The inspection reveiled a deposition of alugel from an air dryer on the stem of several metering valves. Supposedly the deposition has occurred during a short period that air leaving the dryer was not filtered sufficiently. The fact that this event has not been detected is due to several factors. First of all the lack of a manual and a good instruction can be mentioned. This is a necessity for understanding the operational principals of an olfactometer. Once the operation is well understood delicate moments can be foreseen and taken care of. Secondly one calibration per annum is not enough for adequate detection of errors. After this experience it was decided to install a very fine air filter (max. particle size: 5 micrometre) at the end of the compressed air duct. Furthermore, calibrations are foreseen with a minimum of two per year. The second experience concerns the diluting air. It was found that the present odour emission per pig was 2-3 times higher than before. It was felt that this might be related to the nature of the diluting air. As mentioned, a cylinder with compressed air medical grade was used in the first pig house research. In the present research well filtered air from a compressor was applied. In order to solve this question some additional measurements were performed using both types of diluting air. Odour samples were obtained pig houses. The outcome shows lower odour levels in case of the application of medical air. Almost two times lower than filtered air obtained from the compressor. During experimentation panel members commented on the background odour of a specific cylinder with medical air. After completion of the intended measurements, further experiments with samples of the remaining air in the cylinder were

116
carried out. With treated air from the rotary vane compressor as a standard it was found that compressed air of medical grade reaches threshold levels at 8-12 dilutions. The results of these experiments emphasise the need of well cleaned diluting air for use with olfactometers. The third experience gained concerns effects from differences in flowrate of olfactometers. Besides the two olfactometers used by IMAG, a third olfactometer owned by the organisation of applied physical research in the Netherlands (TNO) participated in the experiments. The flowrate of this olfactometer amounts to 20 1/min. Flowrate experiments carried out by TNO show a distinct difference of inhaled concentration. This affirms the results obtained by Dravnieks (1). Using the TNO results a difference of 2.4 may be expected between the results of an olfactometer with a flowrate of 5 1/min and one with a flowrate of 20 1/min. These values represent the lowest and highest flowrates of olfactometers used in the comparative odour research. The observed factor based upon the pooled data was 2.41. The phenomena of flowrate effects on olfactometer results may be explained by the following. During the process of sniffing, air is inhaled from the direct surroundings of the nose. Each respiration uses 0.5-0.8 1 of breathing air. With approx. 18 respiration per minute the total air consumption amounts to 9-14.5 litres. In case of an odour measurement the inhaled air is supposed to be equal to the air delivered by the olfactometer. However if flowrates of the olfactometer are not equal to the respiration level, additional air from the experimental room will be used (see figure 2 ) . Since it is a good practice to keep an experimental room free from odour contamination the additional air can be considered as diluting air. In that case the final dilution of the odour sample is higher than calculated. The result may be negative response in cases where a positive response should occur. An increase of the olfactometer flowrate will replace unaccounted diluting air by accounted air thus making the final dilution is closer to the desired dilution. The desired dilution in calculated by the formula: odorous airflow dilution = odorous airflow Whenever flowrates of the olfactometer and human respiration not match, the dilution formula should be extended to: dilution = odorous airflow Complementary airflows can be calculated by distracting the odorous and diluting airflow from nasal airflows. Although some notion on the magnitude of the nasal airflow can be derived from medical litterature (10) .it should be realized that humans are unique. Therefore a general figure on the complementary airflow and the resulting olfactometer flowrate cannot be given. In order to obtain some idea on effects of sub-respirational flowrates of olfactometers a simple computer program levels do case of a dynamic dilution system is

+ diluting airflow

odorous airflow + diluting airflow + complementary airflow

117
was written using respiration level and olfactometer flowrate as input. Computational results are plotted in figure 2. 3. CONCLUSIONS In view of descriped experiences it is concluded that; -An olfactometer produced by a second party should be delivered with an comprehensive manual. A calibration of the particular apparatus should be carried out and the results enclosed in the manual. -Recalibration by the user should be planned once per year. Preferably every 6 month. -Periodical measurement of well known odours is advisable. This helps in controlling the general performance of olfactometer and observers. -In comparing the results of various olfactometers the effects of flowrate differences should be kept in mind. REFERENCES (1) DRAVNIEKS, A. (1976). Development of a dynamic forced choice triangle method for the measurement of emissions and ambient odours. Final report IITRI project C8217. IITRI, Chicago. (2) FRIJTERS, J.E.R., BEUMER S.C.C., KLARENBEEK, J.V. and JONGEBREUR, A.A. (1979). Psychophysical methodology in odour pollution research: the measurement of poultry house odour detectability and intensity. Chem. Sens, and Flav. 4, 327-340. (3) GRENFELT, P. and LINDVALL, T., (1973). Sensory and physical-chemical studies of pulp mill odours. Proceedings of the 3rd international clean air congres, Dusseldorf. (4) KLARENBEEK, J.V., and BEUMER, S.C.C., (1979). The use of a simple sensory method for odour emission research in intensive livestock keeping. Xnr. 5221. IMAG, Wageningen. (in dutch) (5) KLARENBEEK, J.V., JONGEBREUR, A.A., and BEUMER, S.C.C., (1982). Odour emissions from pig houses. Report 42. IMAG, Wageningen. (in dutch) (6) KLARENBEEK, J.V., and HARREVELD, A,Ph., (1985). Odour and ammonia emissions from poultry houses. Report to be published, IMAG, Wageningen. (in dutch) (7) LINDVALL, T., (1974). Monitoring air pollutants in the field with human observers. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 237. (8) MANNEBECK, H., (1974). A practical portable method of odor measurement. Proceedings of the 1974 Cornell Agric. Waste Manag. Conf. Rochester, N.Y. (9) SCHAEFFER, J,. (1979). The collection and storage of air samples from intensive livestock houses. Report R-5869, CIV0-TN0, Zeist. (in dutch) (10) SYKES, Mc.NICOL, and CAMBELL. Respiratory failure, second edition. Blackwell scientific publications, London.

118
Figure 1. Mannebeck T04 olfactometer in stationary position.

Figure 2. Airflow pattern during sniffing.

AIRFLOW OF OLFACTOMETER

CALCULATED DILUTION V100 REAL DILUTION

1007

R-10

R-20

R=A0

507,

o
10

15 20 25 30 35 40 AIRFLOW OLFACTOMETER. L/MIN

Figure 3 : Relation between respiration level and dilution.

120
PHYSICAL CALIBRATION OF OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS A G WILLIAMS National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, U.K. Summary Two c o m m e r c i a l l y - a v a i l a b l e o l f a c t o m e t e r s , a P r o s s e r and a T04, were i n v e s t i g a t e d p h y s i c a l l y and c a l i b r a t e d . The i n v e s t i g a t i o n s showed t h a t some o p e r a t i o n a l p r o b l e m s of t h e P r o s s e r could be u n d e r s t o o d f o l l o w i n g a d e t a i l e d p h y s i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n . The T04 d i d n o t d e l i v e r t h e d i l u t i o n s shown on t h e m a k e r ' s c a l i b r a t i o n c u r v e s . The main problem with the T04 arose when flows were measured using the lower p a r t s of t h e r o t a m e t e r s c a l e s . The T04 c o u l d , however, f u n c t i o n s a t i s f a c t o r i l y , a r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y w i t h i n 5%, when only t h e u p p e r p a r t s of the rotameter s c a l e s were used. The m e r i t s and d e m e r i t s of flow m e a s u r i n g d e v i c e s and c a l i b r a t i o n methods a r e discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION M e a s u r e m e n t of t h e s t r e n g t h of o d o u r s by d y n a m i c d i l u t i o n o l f a c t o m e t r y and o b s e r v e r s i s a complex t a s k . The o b s e r v e r s r e q u i r e a d e q u a t e t r a i n i n g and sound p s y c h o p h y s i c a l p r o c e d u r e s a r e needed t o maximise the v a l i d i t y of the measurements. Odour s t r e n g t h measurement i s i n e v i t a b l y l e s s accurate than physical o r c h e m i c a l a n a l y s i s , i n which p r e c i s i o n s of +0^% can be r e a d i l y a c h i e v e d . The n a t u r a l v a r i a b i l i t y of o b s e r v e r s i s p r o b a b l y l i k e l y t o be much g r e a t e r than the physical v a r i a t i o n of f l o w r a t e s in the olfactometer. P a r t of t h e p r o b l e m , h o w e v e r , may l i e i n t h e i n a c c u a r a t e c a l i b r a t i o n of the olfactometer. A w i d e r a n g e of d i l u t i o n s a r e u s e d i n o d o u r m e a s u r e m e n t , r e q u i r i n g t h e m i x i n g of g a s e s w i t h w i d e l y d i f f e r i n g flow r a t e s , which must be a c c u r a t e l y metered and d e l i v e r e d t o be worthwhile. Physical f a c t o r s were the cause of d i f f e r i n g odour i n t e n s i t y r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d when 3 c o m m e r c i a l o l f a c t o m e t e r s were compared w i t h t h e ASTM D1391-57 batch d i l u t i o n method (1). The v a r i a b l e s considered to have the g r e a t e s t e f f e c t were the flow r a t e s and / or v e l o c i t y of the d i l u t e d a i r a t t h e nose / o l f a c t o m e t e r i n t e r f a c e . A f u r t h e r p h y s i c a l f a c t o r of c r i t i c a l importance, however, i s whether the expected d i l u t i o n f a c t o r s are a c t u a l l y achieved. The human nose h a s a l i m i t e d a b i l i t y t o d i s t i n g u i s h between two s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t d i l u t i o n s of t h e same odour. I t has been found t h a t some odours can be d i s t i n g u i s h e d only when successive d i l u t i o n s change by f a c t o r s of 1 . 2 6 - 1 . 5 9 ( 2 ) . W i t h s u c h r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e c h a n g e s i n concentration and human v a r i a t i o n , a h i g h - p r e c i s i o n olfactometer might be considered to be of secondary importance. However, i f the accuracy of the o l f a c t o m e t e r i s not high, then the observers w i l l be unable to perform to d e s i r a b l e standards through no f a u l t of t h e i r own. This paper d e s c r i b e s some i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t o the physical operation of o l f a c t o m e t e r s , with reference to two commercially produced models, a P r o s s e r and a T04. I t should be noted t h a t the findings reported here are

121
not n e c e s s a r i l y t y p i c a l of other copies of these o l f a c t o m e t e r s . The type of psychophysical procedure, eg suprathreshold or threshold measurements i s not included in t h i s paper. 2. THE PROSSER OLFACTOMETER The Prosser olfactometer i s a commercially-produced v e r s i o n of the p o r t a b l e o l f a c t o m e t e r developed by the W arren Spring Laboratory (W SL) (2). The olfactometer (Figs. 1,2) contains two fans, which draw i n ambient a i r through an a c t i v a t e d carbon f i l t e r to remove extraneous odours and then mix t h i s odour-free a i r with an odorous a i r sample before e x p e l l i n g the mixture through e i t h e r a sample p o r t (fan 1) or an exhaust p o r t (fan 2) a t 240 l / m i n . An odorous a i r sample i s drawn through a PTFE flow c o n t r o l valve (V1) and the flow i s detected by a hot bead anemometer before being mixed with odour-free a i r a t the i n l e t of fan 1. The s i g n a l from the anemometer i s switched by the o p e r a t o r to one of 11 p o t e n t i o m e t e r s and when the desired sample flow r a t e i s o b t a i n e d by a d j u s t i n g v a l v e V1, t h e r e a d i n g on a c e n t r e - z e r o g a l v a n o m e t e r i s z e r o (Table I ) . Each p o t e n t i o m e t e r i s c a l i b r a t e d by t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r t o g i v e a n u l l r e a d i n g w i t h a known flow r a t e of 0.096 t o 9.6 l / m i n , i n c r e a s i n g i n s t e p s by a f a c t o r of 1.58. The sample a i r i s t h u s d i l u t e d by f a c t o r s of 25 t o 2 500 ( T a b l e I ) i n n o r m a l use with a one-stage d i l u t i o n . A t r a n s f e r v a l v e (V3 and V4) i n t r o d u c e s a second d i l u t i o n s t a g e , which f u r t h e r d i l u t e s t h e s a m p l e by a f a c t o r of 100. W ith t h e t r a n s f e r v a l v e i n t h e "low" p o s i t i o n , sample a i r p a s s e s d i r e c t l y from t h e anemometer to fan 1, while in the "high" p o s i t i o n , sample a i r passes i n t o fan 2, where i t i s d i l u t e d w i t h o d o u r - f r e e a i r . The t r a n s f e r flow from fan 2 i s a d j u s t e d t o 2.4 l / m i n by v a l v e V4 and i t p a s s e s t o fan 1, where i t i s d i l u t e d 100 t i m e s . The s u r p l u s m i x t u r e from fan 2 i s v e n t e d t o exhaust. In the "high" p o s i t i o n , d i l u t i o n f a c t o r s of 2 500 to 250 000 are possible.

Table I Sample flow rates and dilution factors when olfact ometer runs correctly and percentage deviation when galvanometer reads full scale deflection

Sample flow Switch settin, grate l/min

Dilution factor

ter % deviation when galvanome' reads full-scale deflection

Full left Full right

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

9.6 6.0 3.8 2.4

1.52 0.96 0.60 0.38 0.24 0.152 0.096

25 40 63 100 158 250 400 630

1000 1580 2500

+13 +55 +95 +77

+126

+73 +73
+105

+79
+100 +200

-26 -29 -26 -40 -36 -39 -25 -44 -43 -39 -48

122
Nose-pieces

?
>

B
Centre-zero galvanometer

fan 1

V2
-fc cj

Surplus

flow

from Fan 2 vented to exhaust

-ti<P
V3

">L<Fan

Activated carbon filter

Fig. 1.

Air flow equipment in the Prosser olfactometer Valve V1 controls the sample flow rate Valves V2 and V3 are in the same housing and switch flows between the low (L) and high (H) ranges. In the high range, fan 2 provides a second-stage dilution of 100X, which is controlled by valve V4

Fig. 2.

Laminar flow meter connected to sample inlet port of Prosser olfactometer

123
2.1 Calibration The Prosser was calibrated by measuring the a i r flows using a laminar flow meter (^% accuracy) for the odorous sample and a p i t o t tube with a micromanometer for the fan-blown a i r (3). The p i t o t pressures were converted to a i r velocities (4) and hence, from the cross sectional area of the tube, to volumetric flow rates. Since flow near the tube wall was slower than the centre, the tube was traversed by the pitot head and the average value calculated. A rotameter was also t r i e d but i t induced a back-pressure of 250 N/m and, as the manufacturer states that the maximum permissible back-pressure i s 60 N/m for calibration to be accurate, i t s use was not pursued. Before measurements of sample flow r a t e s were made, the a i r flows through the fans were s e t to 240 *_ 10 1/min. The potentiometers that adjust motor speeds were too coarse to permit more accurate adjustment. The sample flows were set to the flow rates specified and galvanometer was set to zero by adjusting the relevant potentiometer in turn. The transfer flow entering fan 1 from fan 2 for two-stage d i l u t i o n was set to 2.4 1/min. 2.2 Results
During operation, it was difficult to obtain steady null readings on the galvanometer, particularly when the sample flow rates were small. In some positions, small movements of the control valve caused a full scale deflection (FSD) of the galvanometer while in other areas, movement of the valve in the same direction caused the flow to increase and decrease alternately. Fig. 3 shows the variation of flow rate with valve position, within the 5.2 rotations of the valve that covered the full range of flow rates. It shows that the sample flow rate of 0.24 1/min (switch position 9) was delivered with the valve in 11 positions. This partly explains why it was difficult to get consistent null readings when operating the instrument. Prosser do not indicate what order of deviation can be expected when the galvanometer does not give an exact null reading. As it was often difficult to obtain a null reading, the sample flow rates were measured when the galvanometer produced readings just at FSD, to both left and right. The consequent deviations in dilution facton (Table I) were between 13 and 200?, depending on the switch position, and the deviation generally increased as the sample flow rate increased. Table I thus shows the importance of obtaining an accurate null reading on the galvanometer but experience suggested that the time taken to achieve this is likely to exceed that available during odour measurement sessions.

Some of the d i f f i c u l t i e s encountered when using the Prosser olfactometer were explained by making careful measurements of the sample flow r a t e s with the centre-zero galvanometer in the zero and FSD p o s i t i o n s . This also showed that i t was necessary to obtain a good zero reading to be confident about the delivered dilution. Measurement of the pressure in the fan o u t l e t s showed that a rotameter, a commonly-used instrument of airflow measurement, was unsuitable for this application. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding the working of an olfactometer. Without measuring the back-pressure, calibration based on the rotameter readings would have been erroneous. The o r i g i n a l WSL portable olfactometer had inbuilt rotameters in by-pass tubes to monitor the fan-blown flows, but by being in situ and calibrated externally, the prformance of the fans could be monitored c o n t i n u o u s l y w i t h o u t

2.3 Discussion

124

120 240 Angle of rotation of sample control valve knob

Variation in the sample flow rate with the angle of rotation of the sample control valve. The integers within the graph refer to the number of rotations. The y axis is shown on a log scale. The parallel, dashed lines, show the eleven flow rates corresponding to the eleven dilutions

125

,.!.<

Figs. 4 and 5 The T04 olfactometer (close-up) and during calibration with the infra red C0 2 analyser.

126
interference. Such a system has the advantage that the operator is able to observe possible malfuntions. The transfer flow for 2-stage dilution could be measured only after partially dismantling the olfactometer, which is a clear disincentive to regular calibration. WSL's portable olfactometer included an orifice plate and micro-manometer for measuring this flow, which could thus be checked and adjusted at any time. This investigation has therefore demonstrated the value of using in situ, non-interfering flow measurement devices that are accessible to the operator at all times. 3 THE T04 OLFACTOMETER The T04 olfactometer (Fig. 4) was developed at Kiel University for mobile use in field studies of odours of relatively low strength (5). It has also been used fixed, in laboratories (6). In operation, compressed, odour-free oxygen or air is ueed as the diluting gas. Oxygen is generally used as observers can become short of breath when breathing compressed air. The diluting gas flow rate, of between 4 and 20 1/min, is controlled by setting a reducing valve on the olfactometer from 1 to 6 i I0-1 N/m . An odorous air sample is drawn into the olfactometer through either of two rotameters, with an overall range of 0.02 to 12 1/min (marked in arbitrary 1 to 10 scales on the rotameter). Passing through the rotameters, the odorous air and diluting gas are mixed in a gas jet pump and then passed to a nose-piece. Calibration of the T04 The olfactometer was calibrated using CO2, as the odorous gas, diluted in air to 10 000 ppm by volume, and contained in a 30 1 Tedlar bag (Fig. 5) (7). COj-free oxygen was used as the diluting gas. The CO2 concentration was was sufficiently low to avoid significantly altering the density of the "odorous" air. The bag was connected by silicon rubber tubing to the rotameter inlets and the diluted gas mixture was sampled via a tube placed inside the nose-piece and analysed by an infra-red gas analyser, with an accuracy of greater than 1% (Fig. 5). Calibrations of each setting of the olfactometer were made in triplicate and in randomised sequence. The dilution factors were calculated as: concentration of COp in Tedlar bag concentration of CO2 measured in nose-piece 3.2 RESULTS 3.2.1 Repeatability The measured d i l u t i o n f a c t o r s were r e p e a t a b l e to within ^^% on average. The dilution factors were much more constant when the rotameter readings were 5 and above than when below 5 (4? and 205? r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . This results from the general reduction in accuracy of rotameters at the lower end of t h e i r s c a l e s . By j u d i c i o u s choice of the i n l e t p r e s s u r e , however, the desired dilution might be obtained within the high range of a rotameter scale, as there i s substantial overlap in the ranges. 3.2.2 Comparison of the actual and theoretical dilution f a c t o r s The theoretical dilution factors were calculated from the calibration graphs^ supplied with the olfactometer, for operation at 1,2,4 and 6 X 10-5 N/m . The graphs p l o t t e d were t h e v o l u m e t r i c r a t i o s of 3.1.

127
diluting gas : odorous air against rotameter readings. These ratios were converted to dilution factors, in line with the values used with the Prosser, by the derivation shown below: Volumetric ratio of diluting gas : odorous air Concentration of odorous gas after mixing with diluting gas Dilution factor of odorous gas If A-1, then the dilution factor is (C+1 )/1 = = = C : A A/(C+A) (C+A)/A C+1

This has a negligible effect at the maximum volumetric ratio of 700, but the minimum ratio of 0.43 is increased by more than 200^ to 1.43. The actual dilution factors were always less than the theoretical ones (Fig. 6) and the deviation with both rotameters was always larger at lower flow rates. The deviation of the larger rotameter was always less than of the smaller one. Deviation from the theoretical values were generally increased when the 10 times pre-diluter was attached to the small rotameter. The pre-dilution factor increased with flow rate and oxygen pressure^ only reaching a 10 times dilution at the higher pressures of 4 and 6 x 10 5 H/m 2 (Fig. 7). 3-2.3 Effect of orientation The T04 olfactometer was designed to be hand-held by an operator when used in the field. When fixed 5 off-vertical, the dilution factors were up to 30? lower than those obtained when it was vertical (Fig. 8) and thus is not ideally suited for portable use. 3-4 Discussion These investigations showed that the T04 olfactometer can deliver repeatable dilutions, but that an absolute calibration was needed before use. The main problems arise from the flow rates measured in the lower ranges of the rotameter scales, which are less accurate than the upper ranges. If the upper ranges only are used, then consistent results should be obtainable. The olfactometer should be used in the same orientation as when calibrated. 4. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF CALIBRATION METHODS The method of calibration used will vary according to olfactometer type. The COj dilution method could not have been used with the Prosser, since the ambient air drawn in by fans contains COj, while it was suitable for the use with an olfactometer like the T04 in which the diluting gas is bottled. It is thus important to check the diluting gas for the presence of any tracer before use. Methane has been used (2) and has the advantage that, like other organic gases, it can be detected by a flame ionization detector. A flame ionization detector has a linear response that covers concentrations ranging over several orders of magnitude. This contrasts with physical measurement of flow rate, in which the measured response is often proportional to the square root of flow rate, e.g. pressure drop across an orifice plate. Thus some flow measurement devices are only suitable for measuring a narrow band of flow rates. The physical properties of a tracer gas must also be considered since control and measuring devices usually respond to mass flow rates or thermal conductivity. Thus, the response to pure COo or methane would differ substantially from air, although correction factors can often be calculated.

128

Fig.6

Actual/theoretical dilution factors versus flow rate of odorous air (rotameter reading) with carrier gas pressures of 1,2,4 and 6 x 105 N/ta2

0 . 8

1 x 10B N/m 2

2 x 105 N/m 2

0 . 4

|
i 0.85 u 4x 105 N/m2 6 x 105 N/m2

<
0.4

. *
1 *

t Z * .

*.

10 0 2 Rotameter reading

10

Large rotameter Small rotameter * Small rotameter with 10x pro-dilution

12

10

100

t
8 -

t
80Vertical

.2 6

o60

1x 2x 4x 6x

10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5

N/m 2 N/m 2 N/m 2 N/m 2

carrier gas pressure carrier gas pressure carrier gas pressure carrier gas pressure

20 Off vertical 10

4 6 Rotameter reading

6 2 4 Reading on smal rotameter Fig. 8 Effect on dilution factors of operating olfactometer 5 offvertical with carrier gas at 2 x 10 5 N /m 2

Fig. 7

Effect of flow rate in snail rotameter on the "10 x" predilution factor

130
5. CONCLUSIONS 1. The accurate dilution of odorous gas is a prerequisite for odour measurement using an olfactometer. 2. The methods of flow regulation and control are particularly critical. 3* A thorough calibration and understanding of the operation of the olfactometer is needed before it is used with observers. Do not accept a purchased olfactometer at face value. 4. Flow measurement devices should preferably be fitted in situ, be noninterfering and always observable by the operator. 5. The calibration method should be chosen with care. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The a u t h o r w i s h e s t o thank Dr J . H . R a n d a l l and Mr H.J.H.Hesser f o r t h e i r help and advice in the p r e p a r a t i o n of t h i s paper.

REFERENCES

1. DUFFEE, R.A. and CHA, S.S. (1980) C o n s i d e r a t i o n of p h y s i c a l f a c t o r s i n dynamic olfactometry. J . Air P o l l . Control Assoc. 30 (12), 1294-1295 2. BEDBOROUGH, D.R. and TROTT, P.E. (1979) The s e n s o r y measurement of odours by dynamic d i l u t i o n . Report No. LR299, Warren Spring Laboratory : Stevenage 3. WILLIAMS, A.G. (1983) A s s e s s m e n t of t h e P r o s s e r o l f a c t o m e t e r . Div. Note D N 1175, n e t . I n s t , a g r i c . Engng, S i l s o e . ( u n p u b l . ) 4. IHVE (1971) Guide Book C. London : I n s t i t u t i o n of H e a t i n g and V e n t i l a t i o n Engineers 5. MANNEBECK, H. (1974) A p r a c t i c a l p o r t a b l e method of odour measurement. In: Proc. 1974 Cornell Agric. Waste Management Conf., 291-294 6. FRIJTERS, J.E.R., BEUMER, S.C.C., KLARENBEEK, J.V. and JONGEBREUR, A.A. (1979) Psychophysical methodology i n odour p o l l u t i o n r e s e a r c h : t h e measurement of p o u l t r y house odour d e t e c t a b l i t y and intenslty.Chem. Senses and Flavour 4 (4), 327-340 7. WILLIAMS, A.G. (1983) C a l i b r a t i o n of a Mannebeck O l f a c t o m e t e r . Div. Note DN 1147, n a t . I n s t , a g r i c . Engng, S i l s o e . ( u n p u b l . )

131
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ASSESSMENT OF ODOURS FROM SLUDOES

S. J. Toogood Water Research Centre, Stevenage and J. Diaper, School of Environmental Science, University of Bradford SlIMMAM The remarkable sensitivity of the human nose to detect a large nunber of chemicals by smell means that traditional odour monitoring methods are costly either in capital (chemical analysis) or labour (olfactometry). Not least among the problems in achieving worthwhile results is the difficulty in representative sampling. This difficulty is greatly magnified in sewage treatment and agriculture by the diffuse nature of the odour sources. A method is proposed to assess the 'Odour Potential1 of slurries and sludges by sampling in the liquid phase, followed by extraction of odorous components under reproducible conditions. The approach has inherent advantages in providing speedy and less costly information for the prediction of odour nuisance, scheduling land disposal, and for comparing methods of sludge treatment and stabilisation.

INTRODUCTION In the assessment of odour production and nuisance from industrial processes the techniques are by now reasonably well established, and their accuracy and consistency are in principle known. There are major differences however between say a rendering plant on the one hand and a sewage treatment works on the other. One difference is psychological; to many people an odour problem is necessarily concomitant to the existence of a sewage works. There have been instances of a well-operated sewage works built next to a tannery, where the sewage works has been almost universally blamed by irate local residents for a problem to which it has contributed in only a minor way. To this extent, for seme people the only way to convince them that there is no odour nuisance would be to shut the works completely, and even then it is known that complaints can continue for some time afterwards. Odours From Non-Point Sources The major difference however is that industrial processes are normally carried out in enclosed vessels, whereas open tanks are the rule at a sewage works for storage and for much of the processing This means that instead of an emission of odour from a chimney whose flow rate can be measured and quality analysed, the odour diffuses from the surface of tanks and channels, in a way that is profoundly affected by geographical location and wind speed. This problem is magnified in agriculture, when animal slurries or sewage sludges are spread onto land. It is clear that this makes an odour problem difficult to assess and harder to control, but it also increases the cost of treatment measures at a sewage treatment works by the addition of covers or buildings to collect the odour before treatment can be contemplated. 1.1.

1.

132
In any case, covering may be impracticable for other reasons. Many processes as they are currently designed depend upon at least visual access by operators for process control, and in other instances the production of odorous chemicals such as hydrogen sulphide can be accompanied by the formation of methane, giving a potential fire or explosion hazard. 1.1.1. Odours from the Spreading of Sludge and Slurries on Land The chimney, originally devised to increase draught through fires and to provide smoke extraction, has found extensive use in many industries to aid the dispersion of odour. The extra height gained by the point of emission is frequently enough to give the extra dilution required to reduce the risk of odour nuisance at even relatively nearby properties. This is an option that is not open to the farmer or the sewage works operator. The cost and practicability of enclosing the processes used in sewage treatment varies considerably, but in the disposal of sludge or animal slurries to land there is never a realistic option that the dispersion of odours once transferred to the gas phase might be effectively controlled. For the prevention of nuisance therefore there are two possibilities. First, the formation or release of odorous chemical species can be discouraged. In practice this usually means the prevention of reducing conditions (negative redox potential) and possibly the prior removal of certain key compounds. Second, the time of contact between the sludge/ slurry and the air can be reduced, for example by ploughing in or sub-surface injection, and the act of spreading can be timed to coincide with favourable atmospheric conditions. These two approaches can of course be used in combination. Both approaches naturally add to the cost of sludge disposal, and for the sewage works manager add to the risk that farmers might be less willing to accept sludge to land, causing a greater problem still. For the farmer, sewage sludge can be a useful source of cheap nitrogen, though of unspecified strength, and also of much needed soil structure, but the imposition of no-grazing periods after application can add to the cost taken as a whole. A further problem, especially for farmers with arable crops is that the demand for soil nutrients and the practicability of spreading and ploughing in are seasonal, whereas a sludge and slurry are produced at a more or less constant rate. In the case of slurries, some form of storage is inevitable, and commonly takes place in open pits. Some digestion and therefore stabilisation takes place during storage, reducing the capacity of the slurry to cause odour nuisance, and as long as the surface crust is not disturbed, little odour results. It is the emptying of slurry pits that gives rise to the release of odour. Principle Sources of Odour at Sewage Treatment Works The capacity of sewage and sewage sludge to produce odour varies markedly during passage through a treatment works, depending on a number of factors, including redox potential, pH and temperature. Nevertheless generally it is the operations that give rise to increased contact between the liquid phase and the surrounding air that give rise to 1.2.

133
problems. Odour problems are commonly associated with: Septic sewage arriving at works Industrial discharge arriving at works Inlet works

Primary treatment

Storm tanks High rate filters Conventional filters Activated sludge process Transfer of sludge Treatment of sludge Storage of sludge Four of these operations are more important than the rest: septic sewage, high-rate filters, sludge transfer and sludge treatment, especially filter pressing, account for the majority of instances of serious nuisance. Of the three processes listed involving sludge two are broadly analogous to land disposal: sludge transfer carries the risks associated with spreading, while the sludge storage corresponds more to sludge on land after spreading. The general conclusion from considering all these factors is that when financial resources for remedial measures are at a premium, it is particularly important to be able to judge the potential benefit in particular cases, as well as to assess the risk from various operations and to ensure that designs of new works or of operating procedures take properly into account these risks. 2. PROBLEMS IN APPLYING CONVENTIONAL ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES TO AREA-SOURCES A concept which has proved useful in assessing odours from contained sources is that of emission rate, defined: F xD where: E - Emission Rate - Related to complaints and is the input to dispersion modelling and to simpler empirical formulae D - Dilution Number - The number of times the odour must be diluted before 50J of people cannot detect it F - Volume Flow Rate of the odorous air When dealing with non-point sources this formula is difficult to apply, because although values of D can be obtained at specific points around the source, it is extremely difficult to measure or estimate values of F which correspond to them. Measurements around a sludge storage tank in Yorkshire Water Authority, shown in Table I. illustrates the difficulty of prediction. Ideally an 'absolute' method, capable of measuring F accurately should be used; since this is not possible, an alternative approach is to quantify in a reproducible way the potential of the liquid phase for

134
Table I. Strength (Dilutions to Threshold) of odour samples from Knostrop sludge tanks Wind velocity (m/s) Sample point 20 mm above sludge level 1 m above sludge level 4 m above sludge level 6 m above sludge level and 20 m from tank

0.4
80 80 63 80

1.8 195 128 80 100

3.6 80 63 40 46

producing odours, and to calibrate this to real applications by experience. A method which estimates the odour potential from a sludge or slurry could be used to develop empirical relationships with complaints received during e.g. spreading. Additionally such a method can be used to evaluate treatment processes. A further advantage of this approach is that it deals well with the logistics of sampling and measurement. Taking voluminous odour samples from the vicinity of a liquid surface over an open tank requires experience and time if a representative sample is to be obtained, since the act of sampling disturbs the air being sampled unless the sample flow rate is infinitely slow. Not only this, but it is not unusual for the site being assessed to be a considerable distance from the place where the olfactometry or chemical analysis is to be carried out. Storage of samples in transit results in a somewnat unpredictable change in the odour measurement. Results reported by Gillard(1) show attenuations between 40 and 55% for seme samples over a 24 h storage period, and more remarkably, an augmentation of 139J for one sample after 8 days storage. Though sewage sludge does change with storage, the effect is minor if the sample is refrigerated. The odour sample can then be extracted at the place of analysis, and used directly. THE CONCEPT AND MEASUREMENT OF 'ODOUR POTENTIAL' In order to make the approach practicable it is necessary to introduce the concept of 'odour potential'. By this we mean the propensity of a liquid or slurry to release odorous substances to an atmosphere; in other words, a measure of the amount of potential odour available for future release. Knowledge of the Odour Potential may be regarded as a 'worst case1 assessment of the problems that can be anticipated from the handling and processing of a liquid, sludge or slurry, and it is thus an important parameter in the process design of a treatment works incorporating odour abatement methods, and of the design of operating procedures for existing or projected plants. Develocment of a Standard Method for Assessing the Odour Potential of a Sludge To enable odour potential of different sludges to be compared in the laboratory, a method was required which could be carried out under standard conditions. An initial method was to pass nitrogen (or air) 3.1. 3.

135
over sludge spread in the bottom of a Buchner flask and to collect the resultant odorous gas stream in a 10 litre odour sampling bag made of 'Tedlar' for use in olfactometry. However, resulting odour strengths were low because large volumes of nitrogen (or air) were required. A further difficulty was the drying of the sludge at its surface, thus changing the sludge character. Attempts to overcome this by passing humidified air resulted in water accumulation and sometimes flooding of the sludge surface. An alternative method was required to increase the concentration of odorous molecules in the vapour phase and so produce a sample which could be used directly for olfactometry. The stream of air was therefore bubbled through, rather than blown over, the sludge. Transpiration methods of this kind have been used to determine vapour pressure and activity of volatile components in solution^). As gas is bubbled through the sludge, the extent to which equilibrium is attained is dependent on the gas flow rate and sludge volume. Trials were carried out to determine the conditions which yielded a fully saturated odorous sample. Comparison of nitrogen and air did not show any significant changes in odour strength or quality, indicating that components of the odour sample are not spontaneously oxidised when air is used. The recommended standard method evolved is therefore as follows. The apparatus consists of flowmeters, two 1 1 glass cylinders in series and an odour sampling bag of 'Tedlar', connected with PTFE tubing as shown in Fig. 1. The air used is oil- and odour-free and preferably from a compressed air cylinder. The air stream splits in two so that the dry air mixes with the humid air that has passed through the sludge, so as to prevent condensation in the odour sampling bag. Two 0.9 1 portions of the sample of slurry or sludge being assessed are placed in the cylinders and allowed to equilibrate with the temperature of the water in the bath (20C), with no air flowing. Then the air flow commences and the odorised air sample is collected in the bag, which is then sealed, disconnected and taken to an odour-free room for olfactometry. For some applications some air is passed through the sludge before the odour sampling bag is converted. Under these circumstances it is useful to arrange for this odorous air to be disposed of without nuisance. APPLICATIONS OF THE METHOD The three samples which follow illustrate work done at the University of Bradford on the assessment of odours from sludge treatment disposal(j). 4.1. Odour Potential of Ex-works Sewage Sludge Odour measurements were made on routine ex-works sludges collected from sludge holding tanks at three sewage treatment works. Odour potential was measured using the standard method (see 3.1). Investigations carried out were comparisons of:intra-works sludge odour variation, using fresh humus sludge, inter-works sludge odour variation, using mixed sludge from various works (iii) sludge age using fresh sludge (up to 24 hours old) and sludge at 2-3 weeks old. The results from (i) are shown in Table II which records odour potential for sludge collected each Thursday morning over a 4 month period. (i) (ii) 1.

136
Results for (ii) and (iii) are shown in Table III, which records the range of odour potential for samples collected over a one year period. Mean values for odour potential are also shown, these having been calculated from approximately 15 measurements. From Table II the seasonal variation in odour problems is clearly apparent. This effect is most marked with humus sludge as the proportion of viable bacteria in the sludge increases markedly during the spring, and coupled with the rising sludge temperature greatly increases the kinetics of the biochemical reduction of sulphur and nitrogen compounds. Table II. Variations with sample date of odour potential of humus sludge Odour strength (D) (Dilutions to Threshold) Sample dates 22.1 5.2 12.2 19.2 26.2 12.3 26.3 2.4 9.4 14.5 21.5 Table III. Range 5k-31.6k 1.3k-20k 10k-20k 12.6k-20k 31.6k-40k 5k-20k 20k-80k 80k-200k 200k->250k 250k->250k 250k->250k Mean 15.8k 15.8k 15.8k 15.8k 31.6k 15.8k 50k 126k 200k >250k >250k Monthly mean

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

15.8k

25k

126k

>250k

Sludge and source Esholt primary Esholt humus Knostrop primary/humus mix Owlwood surplus activated Owlwood primary/surplus a c t i v a t e d mix

Inter-works variation in sludRe odour potential Odour strength (D) (Dilutions to threshold) Fresh sludge 3-week old sludge (up to 24 hours old) Mean Mean Range Range 6.3k - 8k 4k-250k 5k-15.8k 320-5k not a v a i l a b l e 8k 63k 10k 2.5k 6.3k 630-6.3k 6.3k-12.6k 12.6k-63k 32k-80k 8k 2k 10k 40k 63k

137
From Table III, the offensive nature of untreated sludge can again be seen. It is also clear that the effect of storage is most marked with secondary sludges. The results in these tables are illustrative of the kind of assessment of sludges that can be made, and the figures are in a form that can be used directly as an indication of the relative nuisance likely to arise during disposal. The effect of stabilisation is shown later. Scheduling Sludge Disposal - The Effect of Storage Time When sludge samples were stored over a 32 day period the results showed a characteristic double peak in odour potential. Examples are shown in Fig. 2 for two mixed and one humus sludge from sewage treatment works in the Yorkshire Water region. An initial increase can be seen to a maximum at 2-4 days, followed by a decrease before a second maximum at 8-10 days. The pattern indicates that the age at which a sludge is removed for disposal can be critical if odour nuisance is to be minimised. The tests indicate for example that Esholt humus sludge should be stored for at least four days before disposal, and that longer storage of, say, three weeks is appropriate for the Knostrop sludge. Disposal while fresh may conversely be the best strategy for the Owlwood sludge. Field observations do indeed indicate that Owlwood sludge consistently gave the most odorous conditions during spreading. 4.3. The Effect of Lime Stabilisation on Odours The stabilisation of sludge by the addition of lime is favoured in some places. Assessments of odour potential were made on three sludges after various storage times: untreated sludge, lime treated sludge, and sludge adjusted to the same pH as the lime treated sludge, but using sodium hydroxide. As expected, the treated sludges gave initially lower odour potential, but after two weeks this had increased beyond that of the control sludge, and remained so on prolonged storage. It was also notable that the soda treated sludge was always more odorous than the control after only four days, indicating that the effect on odour potential of lime stabilisation is not merely one of altered dissociation equilibria or modified solubilities. 4.4. Change in Odour Capacity with Continuing Aeration As air diffuses through the samples during the controlled stripping in the test, the concentration of the more volatile components of the liquid phase changes with time as the stripping continues. The presence of two volumes of liquid in series is sufficient for most components to prevent alteration of the vapour/liquid equilibrium, but for some very volatile substances, the concentration in the exit air will inevitably change with time. Because some of these substances are extremely odorous, it is important to quantify this effect. Experiments were therefore designed to elucidate the relationship between odour strength, as expressed by the dilution nunber, and the volume of eluted air. Both raw and anaerobically digested sewage sludge were used in the experiments. The procedure used was as described in 3.1., and the tests were carried out in duplicate throughout so as to add confidence to the results obtained. The extracted odour samples were collected in 45 1 bags made of 'Tedlar', contained in polypropylene external containers, 4.2.

138
through tubing and fittings made of PTFE. Analysis was undertaken by the Warren Spring Laboratory of the Department of Trade and Industry, according to the method described by Bailey and Bedborough^). The results are shown in Table IV. and plotted in Fig. 3. and 4. Table IV. Variation of odour strength of extracted samples with volume of eluted air Strength of odour samples (dilutions) Raw sludge 154 000 53 000 30 600 15 500 8 200 Digested sludge 9 900

Volume of air passing through sludge before sampling (1/1)

0
11.1 22.2 55.6

111

350 270 190 160

It is clear from these results that there is considerable die-off of odour strength with time, and that, as would be expected, the anaerobic digestion of sludge can reduce the odour potential by at least one order of magnitude. To illustrate the importance of this die-off effect, the results have been re-plotted in Fig. 5. in a cumulative form; that is to say as cumulative percentage of the eventual colour release against volume of air. In the case of the raw sewage sludge, 38X of the ultimate odour was carried in the first odour sample, and 90J of the odour had been extracted by the passage of about 200 1. In the case of the anaerobically digested sludge, the same effect is much more marked; 72% of the ultimate odour was carried by the first sample, and thereafter the strength of the odour fell off very rapidly. There are two possible explanations for this. First, it can be postulated that as it is known that many of the important odorous chemical species are highly volatile, they may be only physically trapped in the sludge, and need little encouragement to transfer to the atmosphere. An alternative explanation concerns the existence of two equilibria. As the vapour/liquid equilibrium is disturbed by the passage of air, the concentration of dissolved compounds in the liquid phase falls, disturbing the 'solid'/liquid equilibrium. The kinetics of transfer across this latter phase boundary are much slower than for the liquid/vapour transfer, so that the extraction of odour becomes limited by the rate of diffusion into the liquid phase. Two observations may be cited as evidence for this latter view. First, when sludge is applied to land, there is a rapid tail-off of odour nuisance after spreading. The incidence of rain after a dry period is known to result in an increased evolution of odour. Second, in earlier experiments samples of sludge were centrifuged, and the supernatant liquor discarded and replaced by tap water, before being used in the standard odour potential test. Some re-extraction of odour from the samples was rapidly found. In practice, both postulated mechanisms are probably at work, especially if the concept of 'solid/liquid equilibrium1 be extended to

139
encompass equilibria governing the production of odorous compounds by chemical and biochemical reduction. Wavs In Which The 'Odour Capacity' Test Might Be Used To Predict Odour Nuisance Fran Spreading There are several conclusions of practical importance to be drawn. First, it is clear that the EEC sludge-to-land directive(5), which directs that sewage sludge spread onto agricultural land should be "stabilised" has beneficial effects on the mitigation of odour nuisance, since both the strength and eventual total evolution of odour is cut by a factor of ten by the principal UK method of stabilisation. Second, the most important potential sources of nuisance in the disposal of sludges to land are the transfer of liquid sludge to a tanker, and the act of spreading itself. This is especially so with anaerobically digested sludges. Third, it seems likely that this source of nuisance could be considerably ameliorated by the simple precaution of aerating the sludge before disposal. Work elsewhere^ has shown that the aeration of sludge after anaerobic digestion can have a beneficial effect on thickening, possibly reducing disposal costs, and equipment is commercially available for the installation of aeration capacity in existing storage tanks at low capital cost. A rough-and-ready calculation indicates that the combination of anaerobic digestion followed by aeration may be capable of reducing by 97% the nuisance value of raw sludge during disposal. It must also be said that other methods of sludge stabilisation may be capable of yielding similar results, but have not yet been assessed in the same way. CONCLUSIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT The concept of Odour Potential has already shown its usefulness in assessing the right time to spread sludge, and incomparing various sludge stabilisation methods. These results have been achieved without the manpower requirements of an extensive site survey and without the necessity of transporting equipment for olfactometry and makes good use of people expert in odour measurement. With a simple piece of apparatus to extract odour samples from slurry and sludge samples, which is not specific to any particular design of olfactometer the method is suggested as a standard for the day-to-day assessment of slurries, and the determination of operating procedures, particularly at sewage treatment works. Nonetheless, like most other aspects of odour control, there remain unanswered questions. Chief among these is the relationship between odour potential of a sludge, and the actual level of nuisance found during, say, application to land. Elucidating thi3 relationship requires fairly extensive surveys, because of the variability of weather conditions. Paradoxically, such surveys would depend for their validity on the air sampling methods used; the very source of inaccuracy that the Odour Potential test was developed to circumvent. Second, no work has yet been done on the application of the transpiration method to the preparation of samples for chemical analysis. In this area the same strictures on odour sampling apply, even where sub-ambient-temperature trapping techniques are used. Especially where cryogenic trapping is proposed, preparation of the odour sample in the laboratory is a considerable advantage. Third, the work reported in 4.4. indicates that different portions of the extractable odour might approximately be taken to simulate 5. 4.5.

140
different aspects of slurry disposal, for example, spreading, and odour from land after spreading. Correlation work to establish which fractions are best remains to be done, and will probably involve chemical analysis. It is clear then, that the concept of Odour Potential of a sludge or slurry can be a useful tool not only to the odour specialist but also to the operators of sewage treatment works and agricultural slurry handling facilities in minimising the nuisance from the disposal of sludges. 6. (1; REFERENCES GILLARD, F. "Measurements of odours by dynamic olfactometry; application to the steel and carbonisation industries." Paper presented at internation symposium: Characterisation and control of odoriferous pollutants in process industries, Belgian Filtration Society, Louvain-La-Neuve, April 1981. T00G00D, S. J., and HOBSON, J.A. "The Discharge of Volatile Materials to Sewers", Water Research Centre, Technical Report TR142, 1980. TAYLOR, P. L. "Odour Nuisance from Sewage Sludge", Ph.D. Thesis, University of Bradford, 1982. BAILEY, J. C. and BEDBOROUGH, D. R. "Sensory Measurement and Instrumental Analysis of Odours in 'Septic' Sewage - Problems and Solutions" Institute of Water Pollution Control, Maidstone, Kent, England, 1979. Commission of European Communities, 'The use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture1, Draft Directive, November 1981. HURLEY, B. J., and RACHWAL, A. J. "Reducing Sludge Volume" Effluent and Water Treatment Journal, 21, 292-296, 1981.

(2) (3) (4)

(5) (6)

Fig. 1 Standard Apparatus for A s s e s s m e n t of Odour Potential

AIR SUPPLY 4 J/in "

CONSTANT TEMPERATURE HATER BATH <20-C)

SO 1.CARBOY WITH 'TEDLAR' BAG SOOnl SAMPLES SLUDGE CONTAINED IN GOimn DIAMETER 111) CYLINDERS PRESSURE LIMITING SEAL (lOOma ug)

Fig.
300000.

2 E f f e c t o f S t o r a g e on Odour P o t e n t i a l some Sewage Sludges

of

KEY ID A 250000. Owl.ood M i x . J Kfto s t r e p M i x e d E.hoM Huaus

.200000.

lsoooo.

100000.

50000.

0.

Storage

Tlae

(dtps)

Fig. 3 V a r i a t i o n of odour potential with volume of air passed through the sample - r e s u l t s for raw sewage sludge

VOLUME OF AIR THROUGH SLUDGE (I)

Fig. 4. Variation of odour potential with volume of air passed through the sample - results for anaerobically digested sewage sludge

*. -^

I
131-00

VOLUME OF AIR PASSED THROUGH SAMPLE (I)

Fig. 5. Cumulative Release of Odours from Sewage Sludges

100. -

90. -

__,-* -i i i t

80. tx

*.
. *
1

70. o

*
m

60. -

S
0 w Ot

SO. -

40. -

a.

30. -

20. O *

KEY Row S l u d g Dlgtatod Sludg*

10. -

- "T
0-

20-

40-

M.

10-

100.

ISO.

140-

ISO.

110.

200.

220.

240.

2.

200.

MO.

tfaluso

if

Air

Pitied

through

Sludo*

(1)

146
ODOUR CONCENTRATION AND ODOUR ANNOYANCE P.H. PUNTER1, E.P. KbSTER1, J. SCHAEFER2 and K.D. MAIWALD3 Hydraulics Laboratory, Delft, The Netherlands

2 Division for Nutrition and Food Research TNO Zeist, The Netherlands

1 Psychological Laboratory, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Summary As part of a study to test the use of population panels as a method for assessing odour annoyance in a direct way, a comparison of the odour annoyance experienced by such population panels and the odour immission concentrations expressed in odour units/m of air samples taken simultaneously, was made. It was found that in a city where odour annoyance occurs regularly, no relationship could be found between the amount of odour annoyance experienced and the immission concentrations. Furthermore, it was shown that the odour concentrations of pleasant smells (meadows forest) in an unpolluted area may be as high as 24 odour units. It is concluded that the amount of annoyance caused by odours can not be deduced from concentration measurements, but should be assessed in a direct way. Population panels provide a good means of obtaining such data. They are reliable and can give indications about the Important sources of annoying odours in complex industrial areas.

1. INTRODUCTION Odour annoyance as such is seldom measured in a direct way. Usually, the amount of annoyance is inferred from odour concentration by some magic formula, in which also other factors like the frequency of occurrence and the duration of the annoyance, are involved. Since such formula's are not very good predictors of the annoyance experienced, some vague statements about the importance of the nature of the stimulus, given the context in which it is presented, are added. In the Netherlands, we have measured odour annoyance in a direct way, using population panels. Population panels are groups of people who are willing to judge the air quality regularly (in our case once a week) on a voluntary base. Elsewhere (1) we have discussed the advantages of the use of such panels over other more indirect methods of annoyance measurement such as the registration of complaints or extensive questionnaires. The main points in favour of the population panel approach are that such panels can be selected from the population in a random way and can express the amount of annoyance as experienced by means of a graded response scale on a regular basis at moments controlled by the experimenter. Also, population panels are less easily influenced by external pressures such as publications in the press, activist groups etc. In our study we used four population panels of about 75 people each, which were set up in three locations in the industrial area west of Rotterdam and in a non-industrial residential area (Zeist). Every week the panelists received a postcard with the following simple questions:

147
Smell carefully. Do you smell anything now? NO / YES Is the smell that you perceive?: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. not annoying a little bit annoying annoying strongly annoying extremely annoying

They were Instructed to go to a place outside their home every tuesday night between 7 and 8 p.m., smell, enter their Judgement on the postcard and post the prepaid card as soon as possible. If they had any idea about the nature of the odour or its origin, they were asked to write their comments on the back of the postcard. The panels were carefully selected on the basis of age, sex, socioeconomic status, schooling, number of years they lived in the location, and attitudes towards environmental matters. On most of these variables, there were no significant differences between the panels of the different locations. The panels were instructed both in writing and during a special meeting. Much attention was devoted to keeping the panel members well motivated during the one and a half year of the experiment. They received a special Journal with general information about olfaction, taste and environmental matters. They received a special present at Christmas and before the summer holiday. More important, they always received an answer to questions and remarks which they wrote on the back of the postcard. Thus, if someone informed us that he or she would be unable to participate during three weeks because he or she had to go to hospital, the cards would be witheld and a short well wishing letter and flowers would be send to the hospital. Due to all this, the panels functioned very well for the full period with an average response rate of 805!. On the basis of these responses a weekly Odour Annoyance Index was calculated for each of the four locations. This index (described elsewhere in detail (2) ranges from 0 to 100, if nobody smells anything the index has the value 0, if everybody smells a extremely annoying odour it has the value 100. During some of the weeks, in Hoogvliet air samples were collected in order to make a direct comparison between immission concentration and experienced annoyance. The sampling was done by the Division for Nutrition and Food Research TNO Zeist. The samples were collected by a mobile unit of this institute during the same hour in which the panels made their measurements. Fourty teflon bags of 40 liters each were filled at three locations in such a way that all bags contained equal amounts from all three locations. The next day the odour concentration (number of odour units/or) was determined in the laboratory of the institute with a trained panel. The samples were diluted in an olfactometer with pure air until they became Just barely detectable in 50% of the cases they were presented to the panel members. In this paper, we will compare the data obtained in these immission measurements with the data on perceived annoyance in Hoogvliet. We will also show some data on immission measurements on samples taken at various places in the village of Zeist, our control location.

148
2. RESULTS A survey of the general Odour Annoyance Index scores obtained over the different weeks in Hoogvliet and Zeist is given in figure 1.
0

HOOGVLIET

1 * OIJUIIJ

J LllJIlL II ,
OIOCIIJ

1 . . 1 . . . J lilii
o t JUL

,l,l ll,l
oioc i i *

l.ll

oiJAMia

ZEIST

lllllllhl llllllll
DUULI3 oiocras

ill, ll.llllll.il
ou

li.lll

ll,llllllll lllllllllllll
ou oiacnt OIJANIS

a u n i t

Fig. 1. Comparison of the weekly Odour Annoyance Indexes of Hoogvliet and Zeist As can be seen from this figure the odour annoyance experienced in Hoogvliet can be quite considerable, whereas in Zeist hardly anybody ever experienced annoyance caused by odours. If the results of the three cities in the industrial area, Hoogvliet, Fernis and Schiedam are plotted on the map and their scores are expressed as vectors in the direction from which the wind blows at the time of measurement (figure 2 ) , it becomes evident that annoyance sources can be located on the basis of the results.

149

-120 -100

-80

-60

60

BO

100 120 140 160

180

Fig.

Odour Annoyance Indexes vs. wind direction for Hoogvliet, Pernis and Schiedam.

Thus, there seems to be a source north north west of Hoogvliet and another one further to the west. The results on the comparison between the immission measurements and the odour Annoyance Index obtained on the same evenings in Hoogvliet are given in Figure 3.

150

Immission Concentration

etJUHSJ

01SEP83

91DECS3 DATUH

einAR34

IJUII84

AISEPB4

Fig. 3. Comparison between Odour Annoyance Indexes and immission measurements in Hoogvliet.

As can be seen from the figure the relationship between the immission concentration (dotted line) and the odour annoyance is very poor. The correlation coefficient (r-0.12) is statistically non-significant. The odour annoyance experienced fluctuates much more than the immission concentration, which seems rather stable. This might be due to the fact that even without any annoying substances present, the background level of odour concentration is high. Therefore, as a control, a number of immission measurements were made on samples collected at several locations in the village of Zeist. Table 1 shows the surprising results. Table 1. Results of odour concentration measurements at Zeist. Week nr. Location Vrijheidsplein Vollenhove Forest behind CIVO TNO Main road to Amersfoort Meadow Griftlaan Fra. Borselelaan Meadow Windward of Zeist Blank sample (Bag + pump + dilution air) time 19.00 19.00 15.00 16.00 15.00 15.00 16.00 Odour concentration (Odour units/m ) 13.0 24.3 23.0 23.1 18.8 24.1

41 43 45

8.7

46 47

1.8

As can be seen from this table, odour concentrations of 20 odour units or more are quite common in a rural area without industry. Forest odour, the

151
odour of a meadow or ordinary street odours have already to be diluted twenty times before they become indiscriminable from pure air in the laboratory. In table 2, the mean odour concentrations and the median and 90th percentiles Annoyance scores of Hoogvliet, the location with the strongest pollution in our investigation, and Zeist, the control location, are compared.

Table 2. Odour concentrations and annoyance in Hoogvliet and Zeist. Odour Concentration Mean Sd N Annoyance score Median 90th perc. 8..3 2. .4 23. .4 4..4 N 75 75

Hoogvliet Zeist

10. .1 19. .3

5.,7 6..2

23 9

As can be seen from this table the mean odour concentration in Zeist is almost twice as high as the mean odour concentration in Hoogvliet, but Hoogvliet has a median annoyance score which is more than three times higher than the median annoyance score of Zeist. The difference in annoyance is even more striking when one compares the 90th percentiles. 3. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The results presented indicate clearly that there Is no direct relation between concentration of an odour as such and the amount of odour annoyance it causes odour annoyance. Pleasant or non-annoying background odours may be quite strong. Whether an odour is judged to be annoying, depends mainly on its character and on the expectations of the human percelver about its occurrence in a certain context. Only when unacceptable smells are concerned, odour concentration starts playing a role in the amount of annoyance experienced, but even there the relationship is not always simple. A smell which at low concentrations is Judged acceptable and even slightly pleasant in a given context (e.g. manure in the countryside), can all of a sudden become annoying at higher concentrations. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this, is that odour annoyance cannot be inferred from emission or immission measurements, but should be measured directly using appropriate techniques. Population panels are such a technique. They measure odour annoyance in a reliable way and can help to indicate the sources that cause the greatest annoyance. Once this has been done, emission measurements can be made at the indicated sources and adequate odour reducing measures can be taken. The effects of these odour reducing measures in terms of odour concentrations can again be controlled by emission measurements. Their effects in terms of Improvement for the population will be seen in the odour annoyance index provided by the population panels. Thus, the approaches to odour pollution research discussed here are truly complementary to each other.

152
REFERENCES (1) KSTER, E.P., PUNTER, P.H ., AMERICA, A., SCH AEFER, J. and MAIWALD, K.D. (1984) Populations panels in odour control: the development of a direct method for judging annoyance caused by odours. International Symposium "Characterization and control of odoriferous pollutants in process industries". Louvain la Neuve. (2) PUNTER, P.H ., MAIWALD, K.D., SCHAEFER, J., BLAAUWBROEK, J. and KBSTER, E.P. (1985). Direct scaling od odour annoyance by population panels. To be presented at the VDI-Kolloquium Geruchstoffe, Baden-Baden, October 1985.

153
COMPARISON OF CJLFaCTOMETRIC ODOUR MEASUREMENT AND CHEMICAL ODOUR MEASUREMENT N. SCHAMP and H. VAN IANGENHOVE Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences State University of Ghent, Belgium Summary Chemical analysis of odorants in ambient air is hampered by the presence of a plethora of volatile organic compounds, which do not contribute to the odour. Nevertheless application of either powerful separation and identification techniques, such as the GC-MS combination, or specific GC-detection or absorption procedures allow qualitative and quantitative determination of odourants. Improvements are under way to achieve the sensitivity necessary for relevant immission concentrations, which go down to 0.1 ppb for some odorants. 1. INTRODUCTION The perception of odour is due to the presence of volatile compounds in the inhaled air. Measurement of this perception can be carried out directly by psychophysical methods or indirectly by analysing the air for the odorous volatile compounds. Both methods however present a number of limitations and difficulties. Psychophysical methods in general are meant to measure inherently subjective impressions of the senses. Although great progress was made during the last decennia, these methods do not and never will attain the same reproducibility of chemical analysis. The response of human senses is influenced by many other factors, which have nothing to do with the concentration of the stimulus. In order to overcome these deviations, psychophysical measurements have to be performed with utmost attention and criticism. Whoever performed these measurements knows how often unreliable results are obtained. Also measurements have to be performed on a group of people, often a trained panel, in order to practice statistical averaging. Working in the field with a panel, as well a trained panel as a local untrained panel, is very costly in term of labour. However sensorial measurements have one major advantage : they measure what the people, the public see or feel or smell; i.e. what they are interested in. So for subjective impressions, they will always remain the reference. Odour measurement by chemical analysis of the odorous compounds presents also a number of limitations. As will be shown further on, it is a difficult analysis, which is essentially due to the great sensitivity and specificity of the human sense of smell. But even if a complete quantitative analysis of all odorous compounds would be achieved, translating this into odour perception is not straightforward. This again is due to typical properties of our sense of smell, e.g. the decrease of impression (perceived odour) with time at a constant concentration of odorant, and the combined impression of several odorous compounds. Chemical analysis is far less expensive, and is in the long run the only way of achieving routine odour measurement. However both the analytical technology and the correlation of

154
concentrations of odorous compounds with annoyance have still to be improved. At this moment the knowledge in this field is far inferior to the knowledge for the sense of view and the sense of hearing. But there is no reason why we would not acquire the same understanding. Although knowledge on the correlation of odorous compounds concentration and odour impression is still limited, it is used in all types of olfactometry. Indeed diluting this concentration by adding pure air is a general practice. Also many investigations were performed where chemicals are added to air and used in psychophysical experiments. Many speakers in this workshop will present data in this field. Here only chemical analysis will be dealt with. 2. PKDCIPES The goal of chemical analysis of odorous compounds in air is to determine all substances, which interact with odour perception cells in our nose, both qualitatively and quantitatively. However, with a few exceptions all compounds with certain vapor pressure have an odour, meaning that their volatilized molecules react with the membrane of odour receptor cells. As will be shown, always hundreds of compounds are present in air; this means that the analysis would be very complex. However as was said before, our sense of smell is selective : for some products it is very sensitive for other compounds it is much less sensitive. Table I : Odour threshold values (ppb) of some organics

, Compounds butane butane butanol butanal butanethiol

Odour ^ a 1.3 106

, Compound acetic acid propionic acid butyric acid valeric acid hexanoic acid

Odour ^ ^ 1 *

500 300 15 0.8

40 190 38 8 42

Several extensive lists of threshold values, i.e. the minimum concentration in air, that is detected by 50% of the population, have been published (1, 2,3,4). However published threshold values for a particular compound can vary over a number of orders of magnitude, so they have to be treated with scepticism. This selectivity makes chemical analysis of odour easier : many compounds, although present in ambient air, and although they have an odour in pure form, are not contributing to the odour, while their concentration is far inferior to the threshold value. On the other hand the sensitivity is high for a range of compounds, higher than any chemical analysis can cope with directly. These compounds have to be concentrated from the odorous air, so that higher amounts are available for the analytical technique. If this concentrating could be done with the same selectivity of odour receptor cells, there would not be much of a problem. However the actual knowledge of this interaction is far too limited - in fact it is inexisting to speculate on an analytical application. With all of the biochemical developments, it is not excluded that at a certain moment it becomes feasible, but right now the only way is to use crude physicochemical methods, such as

155
freezing out, adsorption and absorption. After concentrating, separation is achieved by classical methods such as gas chromatography (QC) or high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Identification is based mainly on mass spectrometry, infra-red spectrometry and chromatographic data. 3. RESULTS The primary goal of these methods is to concentrate all volatile compounds, mainly volatile organic compounds or VOCs, present. This mixture of VOCs, containing odorous compounds, next to a large majority of unodorous substance, then is analysed. This chemical analysis is based an the separation of these hundreds of compounds by gas chromatography, is hampered by large amounts of water, which is always present in air, and which is also freezed out or adsorbed. The only way to escape more or less this difficulty is to use a rather apolar adsorbant, in casu Tenax QC or similar materials (e.g. Chromosorb 102) (5). A second limitation is the fact that no material will ever be capable of adsorbing all odorous compounds completely, and permit to desorb them afterwards completely. For compounds with very low boiling point, e.g. hydrogen sulphide, strong adsorbants are necessary, while for odorants with high boiling point, e.g. skatol or the sesquiterpenes, thermal desorption is difficult with strong adsorbants. So a compromise has to be accepted, or several complementary adsorbants have to be used. At this moment this compromise far concentrating all odorous substances is found in the adsorbant mentioned, knowing that the most volatile compounds might escape partly. Many systems have been described and even commercialised, but we use a home-built system, which is schematically represented in figure 1 (6). On an cuter side wall of the gas chromatograph (GC) an oven in which the Tenax-adsorptian-sampling tubes fit is constructed. Connections with pressurized helium (transfer gas) is provided and their is a connection with a high temperature resistant sixway valve, which replaces the normal QC-injector. During thermal desorption (position 1 in figure 1) the transfer gas, carrying desorbed volatiles, passes the sixway valve, a cold trap (stainless steel loop cold with liquid air) and enters the ambient air. The helium carrier gas is connected to the GC-column via the sixway valve. After the desorption stage which usually takes about 45 minutes, with a desorption oven temperature of 220C for 30 minutes at least, the sixway valve is switched (position 2 in figure 1). At that moment transfer gas flows through the sixway valve directly into the ambient whereas the carrier gas passes the cold trap before entering the QC-column. The liquid air is removed from the cold trap and the latter is quickly heated by a high intensity fload light. In this way condensed compounds are flash-evaporated and injected into the GC-system. Concentrating odorants by adsorption-desorption techniques produces a terribly complex mixture of TCs, which is separated by gas chromatography. Fortunately this technique allows formidable separation power, but still then the result is not always sufficient far a clear-cut odour analysis. In figure 2 the GC-analysis is shown of an air sample in the neighbourhood of a rendering plant, showing a great number of VOCs; however almost all of them are hydrocarbons produced by cars and heating systems and some other products, which do not contribute to the odour. Very small peaks of odorants are detected, which shows the difficult task of odour analysis with a general concentrating technique. Of course this analysis is far more relevant if emission gases are examined as is demonstrated in figure 3 (7). Part of these difficulties can be overcome if the odorants can

156
be detected specifically, which is possible for scene groups of odorants (thiols or mercaptans, sulphides, amines) with specific GC-detectors. Sper cific detectors are available for haloganted compounds, sulphur-, phosphorand nitrogen compounds. Figure 4 shows the analysis of the sulphur-compounds produced by the acidic decomposition of phosphate-rock and causing the typical smell of fertilizer plants. Another approach is to aim at selective concentration methods. Indeed odour problems are caused by a limited number of compounds, on rather a limited number of classes of compounds, mentioned in figure 5. For most odour nuisance problems, chemical plants, refineries, livestock production, food processing, rendering, water purification plants etc., the compounds responsible for the odour are known. So chemical analysis of the odour can be limited to these odorants, and selective concentrating techniques can be used. Selective concentrating methods are based on specific absorption techniques, using particular chemical reactions of odorant classes. Sometimes several absorption methods have to be used in order to describe the odour problem, thus increasing the labor cost of the analysis. On the other hand absorption methods allow better quantitative results. Selective absorption of odorants from air produces a far less complex mixture. We developed or are developing several of these methods for aldehydes, amines, acids, thiols etc. Carbonyl compounds for instance can be trapped by absorption in a reagent solution containing 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and hydrogen chloride. Details of this method are extensively described elsewhere (8). The principle of the method is that the carbonyl compounds, in case of rendering plant emission the aldehydes, react with the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and form 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones (2,4-DNPH's) according to the scheme.
R

.N0 2

N02

\ = 0 + N 0 2 -/ O \ _ N H - N H Z N 0 2 - / 0 Y - N H - N - /
R

+ H20
R

These 2,4-dinitrcphenylhydrazones have some interesting properties. It are cristalline compounds so that after extract of the 2,4-DNPH's from the reagens, they can be concentrated by evaporation of the solvent without losing product. Besides these compounds shown intense absorption of UVlight Ojnax 356 nm) and so they can easily be detected with an UV-detector. These properties make the 2,4-DNPH's particularly suitable for HPLCanalyse. This methods is used since some time. A chromatogram is given in figure 6 and results of the quantitative determination of carbonyl compounds in different situations are given in table 2. For amines absorption in an acid solution, or preferably adsorption onto an acid ion exchange column (acidified divinylbenzene-styrenesulfonic acid copolymer) is used. 10-50 1 of ambient air is sent over'a wet 100 mm x 3 mm I.D. column; the ion exchange polymer is put into a vial, made alkaline and the water solution is analysed on packed Carbowax-KDH GC-column with a thermionic selective detector (TSD), which is specific for nitrogen- and phosphorus-compounds. Trimethylamine is detected easily at 1 ppb. Acids can be absorbed specifically in an alkaline impringer, which is extracted with ether after acidification to pH 2. This method was used for rendering plant emissions, showing a series of linear and branched

157
Table II : Quantitative determination of carbonyl compounds at different odour sources (concentrations in ppb)

Rendering plant neighbourhood Formaldehyde Acetaldehyde Acetone Propanal Isctoutyraldehyde Pentanal Hexanal Heptanal Octanal Nonanal 40 39 36 10 10 15

Gelatine plant neighbourhood 16 24 73 30 19 2 2.5 0.5 2

3
1 1

acids (figure 7). However extractions always involve a serious decrease in sensitivity, while evaporation of the extract produces a solution in 0.1-0.5 ml of solvent, and only 1 pi of it can be brought in the gas chrcmatograph. Therefore work is in progress to enhance sensitivity by converting acids into halogenated derivatives, which can be GC-analysed with the more sensitive electron-capture detector. For thiols a similar procedure is investigated as with aldehydes. One possibility is absorption of thiols in an alkaline solution and reaction with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene, yielding 2,4-dinitrofenylsulfides, which are analysed by HPLC (9).

R-S-H +
Some improvements on removal of reagents at the one hand and on separation of some by-products on the other hand have to be achieved in order to increase the sensitivity with another factor of ten. 5. CONCLUSION The actual scope and limitations of chemical analysis of odour show that all problems can be tackled as far as emission is concerned. For inmission measurements some progress is necessary, but there is no essential reason why chemical analysis would be unable to attain the desired sensitivity for all types of odorants. There is no doubt that in a few years the last difficulties will be solved. In order to achieve real control of odour nuisance, automatic measurement is necessary on a long time basis. There again some technical development is to be expected. Does this mean that machines are going to decide if an odour is present or not? By no means, while the population will always be the reference, and psychophysical measurements will be necessary to make chemical analysis possible.

158
REFERENCES 1. Compilation of Odor and Taste Threshold Values Data, Eld. F.A. Fazzalari, ASTM Data Series DS 48A, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 1978. 2. Compilation of Odour Threshold Values in Air and Water, Ed. L.J. Van Gemert, A.H. Nettenbreijer, RID, Voorburg, CIVO Zeist, Netherlands, 1977. 3. F. Patte, M. Etcheto, P. Laffort, Selected and Standardized Values of Suprathreshold Odor Intensities for 110 Substances, Chemical Senses and Flavour, 1, 1975, 283-305. 4. P.H. Punter, Measurement of Human Olfactory Threshold for several Groups of Structural related Compounds, Chemical Senses, 7(3/4), 1983, 215-235. 5. N.P. Cernansky, Diesel Exhaust Odor and Irritants : A Review, J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc., 33(2), 1983, 97-104. 6. H. Van Langenhove, N. Schamp, Chemical and Olfactometric Measurement of Odours, In : "Characterization and Control of Odoriferous Pollutants in Process Industries", Ed. SocietS Beige de Filtration, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 1984. 7. H. Van Langenhove, F. Van Wassenhove, J. Coppin, M. Van Acker, N. Schamp, GC-MS Identification of Organic Volatiles Contributing to Rendering Odors, Environ. Sci. Technol., 16(12), 1982, 883-886. 8. H. Van Langenhove, M. Van Acker, N. Schamp, Quantitative Determination of Carbonyl Compounds in Rendering Emissions by RP-HPLC of the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones, The Analyst (London), 108, 1983, 329-334. 9. H. Van Langenhove, M. Van Acker, H. Van Langenhove, Separation and Determination of 2,4-dinitrophenyl thioethers by RP-HPLC, J. Chromatogr. 257, 1983, 170-173.

POSITION IYJE

1 L r1 *

y
7

Schematic representation of the thermal desorption cold trap - GC-MS system DO : Desorption oven A : Adsorber VO : Valve oven S : Coolinq spiral GO : Gaschromatographic oven CG : Carrier qas TG : Transfer gas C : Column

'"AJLjJl Aukw
FIGURE 2 CHROMATOGRAM OF THE GC-MS ANALYSES OF AMBIENT AIR, SAMPLED IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF A RENDERING PLANT

43

VJCuJiiw
FIGURE 3

Lu-^
O

CHROMATOGRAM OF THE GC-MS ANALYSIS OF A RENDERING PLANT EMISSION SAMPLE, ODORANTS IDENTIFIED 1. 2. 6. 7. 8. 9. trimethylamine dimethyl sulfide propanal 2-methylpropanal 3-me thylbutana1 2-methylbutanal 15. 16. 19. 25. 26. 37. pentanal dimethyl disulfide hexanal heptanal dimethyl trisulfide nonanal

161

'

UUULL JJ ilk lluliwdL^_

|i0 2J) It 40 SO

II

lulu

FIGURE 4

Chromatogram of the Tenax-adsorption FPD-analysis of volatiles emitted during acidic decomposition of phosphate rock. Compounds : 1. 2. 3. 4. dimethyl sulfide dimethyl disulfide methyl isopropyl, disulfide alkyl substituted thiacyclopentanes and alkyl substituted thiacyclohexanes.

162
FIGURE 5 IMPORTANT CLASSES OF ODOORANTS

1. Oxygen compounds Aldehydes RCHO R = CnH2n+1

= C H

Carboxylic Acids C H~ ,.COOH OH n 2 n + 1 Phenols I I

n 2n-l n = 1 to 6

R = H or C n H 2 n + 1

2. Nitrogen compounds Amines R R2R3N R = H or C n H 2 n + 1

Indols

I O | ^ N Q N -j-H

R = H or C n H 2 n + 1

Pyrazines

2"
C H, 1 SH n 2n+l

R = H or C n H 2 n + 1

3. Sulphur compounds Thiols Sulphides Polysulphides Thiophenes n = 1 to 3

C H S C H n 2n + r - n 2n + l

CH,-S -CH, / -J~R

n = 3,4 R = H or C n H 2 n + 1

Acylthiophenes

/ j T

n 2n+1

n - 1,2

Alkylthio thiophenes

(/

-5T s-c n H 2n+l

163

FIGURE 6 Chromatogram of the analysis of carbonyl compounds by the 2,4-DNPH's methods: A : standard mixture, B : rendering emissions

10

20

10

20 timini

FIGURE 7 Chromatogram of the analysis of organic acids in rendering emissions

JUUL
Coopoundi i a. diethyl ether (solvent) 1. acetic acid 2. propionic acid 3. laobutyrlc acid 4. butyric acid 5. isovaleric acid 6. valaric acid ?. laoqaproic acid 8. caproic acid 9. ionol (antioxidant praaant In diethyl athar)

SESSION II : ODOUR CONTROL FAO - GROUP

Treatment of livestock manure; air composting poultry manure

drying

and

The effect of insulating broiler house floors on odour emission Use of peat as litter for milking cows Covering manure storing tanks to control odour Machinery spreading : soil barrier to odour dispersion injection as a

Swedish experiences with soil injection Separation as a method of manure handling odours reduction in pig buildings and

Measurements of the olfactometric efficiency of various odour control devices in rendering plants The effects of weather on odour dispersion from livestock buildings and from fields Design and buildings use of biofilters for livestock

Experience in the use of biofilters Design and experience obtained with bioscrubbers Aeration of pig slurry to control odours and to reduce nitrogen levels Oxygen requirements for controlling odours from pig slurry by aeration Aeration and odour control by heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms

166
TREATMENT OF LIVESTOCK MANURE: AIR DRYING AND COMPOSTING POULTRY MANURE

Ing. W. KROODSMA Institute of Agricultural Engineering, IMAG Wageningen, The Netherlands Summary Batteries with manure belts are very popular in the Netherlands on account of their cleanness and minimisation of malodour in the stall. Normally the manure must be removed 2-3 times per week and dropped in a pit. After this the manure is handled like liquid manure. Liquid manure is easy to handle but it has some disadvantages, in particular high transport costs and odour problems during storage and spreading. In this report a description is given of an in-house drying system on belt batteries, followed by a composting process in a shed outside the stall. With the in-house drying system air from outside is blown through polyethylene tubes mounted underneath the ridge of the poultry house by centrifugal fans. While passing through the tubes air is warmed up by the surrounding stall-air of about 22C. It is then blown into perforated ducts and distributed over the manure on the belts. The diameter of the perforated ducts is important since electrical power consumption depends on ventilation rate and backpressucfi. The drying process works well with an air movement of 0.4.-0.5 m /hen/h with a backpressure of at least 300 Pa in the perforated ducts. After 5-7 days the manure with a DM-content of about 45% is removed from the belts and transferred by transport belts to a storage shed. During storage much of the moisture evaporates by spontaneous internal heating. Although there is some smell during storage in the shed, especially from ammonia, this system produces a dry and crumbly odourless manure with a DM-content of 55 % or higher. Calculations show that this system of drying manure is economically more advantageous than drying systems with stall storage.

1. INTRODUCTION Fresh poultry manure contains 20-23 % dry matter. As such this manure cannot be applied by means of the generally available manure-spreading equipment. For that reason water is often added in many enterprises. The diluted manure is stored in cellars or silos and, with the aid of good mixing equipment, the manure can be pumped out of the cellar and spread over the land. The average liquid manure production per hen amounts to about 80 litres, with ca 12% dry matter, per year. If we start out from a hen farm with 25,000 laying hens and a required storage capacity of 6 months, this means a silo or pit of 1,000 m . Apart from the investment and operating costs of such silos, the following disadvantages occur in practice : . mixing costs of the manure; . transport costs for removal. This plays an important role when the farms have to transport the manure over long distances; . stench resulting from anaerobic processes in the liquid manure. Owing to these problems it is understandable that considerable efforts are being made to process manure in a drier form (1). In the past years this

167
has given rise to methods for drying manure in the stall, including stalls with manure cellars some 3 meters in depth (so-called deep-pit or high-rise stalls) and in stalls with 1.25 m deep channels. In both types of stalls dry manure is obtained by a combined drying and composting process. The predrying of the manure to about 40% dry matter is done by means of extra internal ventilation or a stall-ventilation system specially designed for the purpose. Heating-up takes place in this (pre)dried manure in the course of storage and temperatures of 40-60C have been measured. Moisture evaporates from the manure as a result. The water vapour generated is disposed of by the stall ventilation system. Manure with more than 50% dry matter is obtained after a period of six months or longer in stalls with an efficient drying system. This manure is practically odourless thanks to the aerobic heating-up process. Annual production amounts to about 25-30 litres or 15-20 kg per hen. In spite of this good result these manure-drying systems have made little headway. This is due in the first place to the cost of electric power, which often exceeded the price obtained in selling the manure. Then the nuissance caused by the smell of ammonia in the stall during periods of limited stall ventilation and that caused by vermin, such as mice, flies and beetles. In recent years many stalls have been equipped with batteries with manure belts. This type of battery is based on the processing of liquid manure. By removing the manure from the belts 2-3 times a week and storing it in properly closed cellars, good stall hygiene can be achieved. Some years ago IMAG started research to develop a drying system on this battery so as to combine the advantage of the favourable stall climate with the production of dry, odourless manure (2). DRYING SYSTEM IN MANURE BELT BATTERIES This system is based on two-phase drying: A. Predrying on the manure belts by means of air, B. Postdrying in covered-over storage by spontaneous internal heating. 2.1. Predrying on manure belts by means of air Fig. 1 gives a schematic drawing of the drying system. 2.

Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the drying system 600 mm 4. perforated duct > 100 mm 5. manure removal belt 6. condensation gutter

1. Centrifugal fan 2. polyethylene tube > 0 3. distributor duct

168
Air is sucked in from outside through a wide-mesh filter (e.g. wire gauze) by a centrifugal fan. The air is blown to the distributor duct through polyethylene tubes, 600 or 700 mm in diameter. During through-flow the air heats up by exchange with stall air. Condensation occurs on the outside of the tube, particularly in cold weather. The dripping water is caught in a gutter and led off out of the stall. The warmed and relatively dry air is blown into the perforated ducts suspended above the manure belts over the whole length of the battery. These polyethylene or p.v.c. tubes have two holes of 3mm0 at either side at intervals of 100 mm. It has been found from experience that 2-mm holes get blocked up very quickly and tests have shown that 4-mm holes cause high pressure losses. The ventilation capacity required for drying amounts to 0.4.-0.5 m /hen/h at a backpressure of 500-1000 Pa in the heat exchanger tubes. The pressure is determined from the volume of air, the length and cross-section of the perforated ducts. For good drying, the pressure at the end of the perforated duct must be at least 300-350 Pa. This is the lowest pressure at which the air can be blown out of the holes at a speed of ca 20/m/sec, so that it can be distributed over the manure on the belt at a speed of 0.5-2.0 m/sec. It is important that the perforated ducts have the right diameter so as well the air distribution and the pressure in the duct will be right and the electrical power consumption is as low as possible. In order to gain insight into these facts measurements were made in ducts of different cross-sections and lengths. With these data a computation program has been made, so the most suitable duct diameter can be chosen. Also important are the heat exchanger tubes. In the first instance a centrifugal fan was placed directly on the distributor duct. However, the stall air sucked in is so polluted with dust, feathers, etc. that the holes are very soon clogged up. Installation of a dust filter quickly gives rise to a loss of capacity. Dust filters are no solution to the problem, in particular from the viewpoint of practical objections and the high investments involved. In the set-up now used the fans are mounted on the end of the stall and outside air is blown through tubes made of plastic foil to the distributor duct. During transport, the air in the tube is warmed up and, particularly in wintertime, condensation takes place on the outside of the tube. The warming-up and condensation on a 600 and 700 mm foil tube were measured and with the results a computer program was made. With this program the warming-up and condensation threshold was computed for a ventilation capacity of 2500 m /h. Table J. shows the calculated distance which, at a ventilation capacity of 2500 m /h, is required for warming the air up to about 10C. Table 1 3 Heating up the outdoor air at 2500 m /h outdoor temp.

0 tube
in mm

in C

rel . hum. at 2 2 o C in % 70 70 70 70 60 60 60 60

warming-up in C 10.2 10.3 10.7 11.0 9.3 10.7 9.3 11.7 (50.0 (50.4 (69.6 (70.6 (47.2 (56.1 (62.9 (79.2 m) m) m) m) m) m) m) m)

condensation threshold in m 75.1 64.9 89.5 79.5 47.2 37.4 62.9 52.8

600 700 600 700 600 700 600 700

0 0 -5 -5 0 0 -5 -5

169
From Table 1 it is found that the distance over which heating up takes place at a stall temperature of 22 C is mainly influenced by the outside temperature and much less by tube cross-section and relative humidity of the air in the stall. Moreover, it is evident that the air has to travel a long distance to reach 10 C. Faster warming-up is possible by increasing the area of the heat-exchanging surface. This can be achieved by using a number of smaller tubes instead of one large one. A practical objection to this set-up is, however, the space in the stalls, which is too restricted for installation of a large number of tubes. Where more heating is needed, a compact heat exchanger or additional heating equipment has to be installed. In the batteries using this drying system the space between cage floor and manure belt has been increased so that the manure can collect there for about 7 days. This is important in order to get a favourable ratio between the amount of fresh manure and the amount of drier manure. Compared to belt batteries using liquid manure, the time required for cleaning out the manure is reduced by half. After drying, the manure with a dry-matter content of about 45% is removed from the belts and transferred by transport belts to a covered storage place. Postdrying in a covered store by spontaneous internal heating Such storage is required in the system to ensure the obtaining of homogeneously dry manure. Manure with a dry-matter content of about 45% is unsuitable for transport and storage in the open air. Anaerobic processes readily take place in such manure, the result being a sticky, malodorous manure which is difficult to process. Spontaneous internal heating starts quickly in the stored manure. In the top layer in particular, high temperatures (> 60C) have been measured, those in the layers below varying between 30 and 50C. The drying is promoted by the fact that a new layer of manure is dropped on to the heating pile every week. The thinner the layer, the faster the manure dries. For that reason, in addition to the advantage of greater manure storage, a swivelling conveyor is to be recommended. During the composting process much moisture is evaporated and a slight smell of ammonia is perceptible. After a successful spontaneous heating process has taken place, manure is obtained with a dry-matter content of at least 55 %. This manure is suitable for transport and storage in the open air and can be easily applied by means of conventional manure spreaders. The minimum manure-storage requirement is not less than a 6 weeks1 capacity, a hardened floor and a roof. In such storage the water vapour is quickly removed by the wind and attack by rain is prevented. In more closed storage places, adequate ventilation must be provided via walls and roof-ridge, while large doors being required for removal of the manure. 3. PRACTICAL RESULTS 3.1 Drying and power consumption Manure drying in 5 stalls, each with a population of about 25,000 hens kept in 3- and 4-tier batteries, was investigated over the period of one year. Although the drying system evinces differences in matters of detail, the ventilation output is based on at least 0.4. m /hen/h at a backpressure of more than 300 Pa at the end of the duct. In all cases the ventilation capacity can be reduced, particularly to prevent low temperatures at night and in the winter. In a number of different weeks, after 5-7 days drying, samples of fresh and belt-dried manure were collected for determination of dry-matter content and the kWh consumption was ascertained. In Table 2 a survey is given of the measured data. 2.2.

170
Table 2 Survey of average dry matter contents (in %) and kWh-consumption (in kWh/hen/year) October 1983 Dry matter content Fresh manure Average Spread 21,19,4-22,4 belt-dried manure 43,1 39,9-45,4 1,05 0,83-1,30 kWh December 1983 Dry matter content Fresh manure 21,3 19,2-22,8 belt-dried manure 44,5 40,2-48,8 1,15 0,93-1,84 kWh

March 1984 Dry matter content fresh manure Average Spread belt-dried manure 40,2 36,4-45,4 1,05 0,89-1,22

May 1984 kWh

Dry matter content fresh manure 21,3 19,5-22,7 belt-dried manure 46,3 43, 48,6 1,27 0,94-1,60

kWh

20,2 19,1-21,7

From Table 2 it is found that, on average, the dry-matter content of the belt-dried manure amounts to 40-45%. Moreover, the power consumption was found to be more than lkWh/hen/h. To ensure that the internal spontaneous heating is successful, a dry-matter content of 45% is recommended. The dry-matter contents are affected by various things : - the dry-matter content of fresh manure; - the drying properties of the air; in general the drying conditions are better in sunmer than in winter; - the ventilation capacity. In winter, in particular, in stalls with insufficient isolation and in stalls with poorly closing inlets the ventilation is reduced to prevent the stall temperature from going down; - cutting down on the use of energy; trying to save too much can lead to poor drying results; - blocking up of the perforated ducts; blocking has been found to occur in winter at the beginning of the ducts. In such cases condensation has formed on the ducts, leading eddying dust to adhere to them and blocking up the holes. 3.2 Composition of the manure As experience with in-house manure-drying systems has shown, about 50% of the organic matter and nitrogen can be lost during prolongued storage in the stall. Particularly when the ventilation is restricted, there is a perceptible smell of NH in such stalls. On the other hand, in stalls having the manure-belt battery system, the stall climate is good, even in the winter period. During the heating-up process some nitrogenous matter does escape from the store in the form of ammonia. In Table 3 the fertilizing value is mentioned of a number of samples of fresh manure, belt-dried manure and belt-dried heated manure.

1 7 1
Table 3 Averaged composition (in %) of respectively fresh, belt-dried and belt-dried heated manure Averaged contents in the material in % Dry matter Crude ash P 25 tot 22.7 45.3 60.1

Kind of manure Fresh manure Belt-dried manure Belt-dried heated manure

K20
0.55 1.23 1.76

7.14.1 21.-

1.13 2.32 2.92

0.87 1.90 3.12

On the basis of the data given in Table 3, a daily fresh manure production of 0.150 kg/hen and supposing that the quantity crude ash during drying and heating does not change the manure production and fertilizing has been calculated. Table 4 Survey of the kg/hen/year manure production and fertilizer elements in

Kind of manure Fresh manure Belt-dried manure Belt-dried heated manure

lanure 54.8 27.2 18.3

Crude ash 3.84 3.84 3.84

Quantity of Org. matter 8.60 8.48 7.16

N
0.62 0.63 0.53

25

K20
0.30 0.34 0.32

0.48 0.52 0.57

Table 4 shows that by drying the manure the weight is reduced by 50%. This weight loss is caused by evaporation. During the storage period of about 8 weeks in the heating process, next to a further reduction in weight because of evaporation, also organic matter and nitrogen are lost. In Table 4 it is shown that this amounts to 16.7 and 14.5% respectively. With respect to the fertilizing value of the manure it must be remarked that the drier the belt-dried manure, the shorter the heating process and the consequently slighter the loss of organic matter. Odour Odour research (3) has shown that the kind of manure and the way of storage influences odour emission. The lowest emission was measured in houses with belt batteries, manure removal at intervals of 3-4 days and storage in well-closed pits. Houses with dry manure systems in combination with in-house storage also have a low emission. Preliminary odour research in a house with belt batteries and predrying of the manure also indicates an odour emission comparable to houses with belt batteries and liquid manure storage in a closed pit. Other research results show that ammonia losses in a house with predrying of the manure were lower (4.8 mg/hen/h) than in a comparable house with liquid manure handling (9.8 mg/hen/h). In the covered-over storage, however, some smell is noticeable. A preliminary investigation was set up in a closed and mechanically ventilated storage. A part of the ventilation air was blown through an air scrubber and a biofilter. With help of these systems an odour and ammonia reduction is possible. The results are mentioned in the paper "Experience in the use of biofilters". For this reason it is understandable that in practice the poultrykeeper will deliver the predried manure at once and will avoid postdrying in a covered storage. However,

3.3

172
manure with about 45% DM is not suitable for further handling. Research will start towards producing drier manure directly from the battery but also towards a closed mechanically ventilated storage and an odour reducing system. 4. INVESTMENTS AND ANNUAL COSTS There are three drying systems in use in the Netherlands, namely: - houses with cellars (deep-pit and high-rise houses) - houses with channels - houses with flat floors and manure-belt batteries The investments and annual costs have been calculated for these three systems.

4.1

Investments A comparative calculation for the sub-structure of the stalls housing a population of 25,000 laying hens in 3- and 4-tier batteries has been made for different drying systems. The calculation also takes account of the equipment for drying and removing the manure.

Table 5 Investments (in Dutch guilders) for 3 dry-manure house types High-rise house 3-tier Total Per hen Ratio 198300 7.93 172 4-tier 169200 6.77 147 Channel house 3-tier 195600 7.82 170 4-tier 162300 6.49 141 House with manure-belt batteries 3-tier 4-tier 126800 5.07 110 115200 4.61 100

From Table 5 it can be seen that the house with the manure-belt batteries is much cheaper than the two other types. Annual costs Table 6 gives the annual costs calculated for the systems stated in Table 5. The calculation takes into account the following percentage for depreciation, interest and maintenance: 11% - structural provisions 17% - equipment Of still greater importance however are the costs of power for the fans. From the tests it is found that drying to 45% dry matter is possible at a power consumption of about 1.5 kWh/hen/year. At a price of 0.22 D.guilders/kWh this is 0.33 D. guilders/hen/year. Here it must be said that the dry manure is not a waste product, but a manure which is in demand and can command a price of at least 10 guilders per m . An annual production of 30 litres/hen thus practically covers the energy costs. Table 6 Annual costs (in Dutch guilders) for 3 types of houses with dry manure Manure-pit 3-tier Manure processing/ hen/year 0.91 4-tier Channel house 3-tier 4-tier House with flat floor and manure belt batterie 3-tier 4-tier 4.2.

0.78

0.95

0.81

0.67

173
From Table 6 it is clear that the costs in the house with batteries are much lower. manure-belt

LITERATURE (1) KROODSMA, W. IMAG publication no. 73. Drying hen manure with stall air in various types of stall. (2) KROODSMA, W., ARKENBOUT, J. and STOFFERS, J.A. Research Report 85-1 New system for drying poultry manure in belt batteries (in preparation). (3) SCHELTINGA, H.M.J., JONGEBREUR, A.A., KLARENBEEK, J.V. Legislation and research related to Odour Problems in Holland. The Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Livestock Wastes 1980, 306-308 Livestock Wastes : A Renewable Resource.

Fig. 2

Two fans are used in this house to dry the manure on several batteries

174

Fig. 3

Roofed-over manure storage where further drying takes place by means of spontaneous heating

Fig. 4

House with manure drying and roofed-over manure storage

175
THE EFFECT OF INSULATING BROILER HOUSE FLOORS ON ODOUR EMISSION E.N.J, van OUWERKERK and J.A.M. VOERMANS Institute of Agricultural Engineering, IMAG Wageningen, The Netherlands Summary Insulation of the floor of broiler houses prevents moisture condensing on the concrete surface and thus has an effect on the dry matter content of the litter. This effect can be expected wherever the ground water level is about one metre below the surface. The theoretical principles are given. Other benefits of the insulation are a reduction in ammonia and odour emission, as well as an improvement in the quality of the broilers as measured by the presence of blistered briskets and wrong legs. The economic implications, however, remain unclear.

1. INTRODUCTION Wet litter in broiler houses is undesirable, because it affects the climatic conditions for the fast-growing birds. The theoretical conclusion is that insulating the floor could prevent condensation, especially in situations where there is a high ground water level. The first trials and their findings are reported on below. 2. THE TECHNOLOGY OF BROILER PRODUCTION Broiler production is widespread in the countries of Western Europe, with the technology involved varying according to local climatic conditions. In the Netherlands the fattening period is about 45 days, with a seven to ten day gap between fattening periods depending on market demand. The initial inside temperature should be 32C, and over the next 45 days this temperature is lowered by about 3C every ten days, so that at the end of the period the temperature is still 18" C to 20 C. On the floor is a layer of wood shavings the purpose of which is to provide - a better environment for the young chicken - a binding agent for the moisture from droppings and stagnant water. The desirability of insulating the floor has been raised several times before. Initially, the low ventilation and high temperature mean that the layer on the floor remains dry, and we have to look at the physical processes involved in situations where the ground water level is one meter or less below floor level if we are to find an answer to the question. 3. THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES AT FLOOR LEVEL The period of greatest interest is when the inside temperature is high. If we assume an uninsulated floor : . The temperature of the ground water is 10C and the relative humidity, of course, 100 % . The inside temperature is 31C and the relative humidity 70 %. . The distance between the ground water level and the lower edge of the concrete floor is 0.75 m. . the concrete floor is 0.12 m thick and the layer of wood shavings 0.08 m thick. . The X 1) for soil = 0 . 3 W/mK a. = 25 W/mK

176
concrete = 2.4 W/mK polystyrene = 0.035 W/mK shavings = 0 . 0 7 W/mK The v 2) for soil = 20 (dimensionless) concrete = 200 polystyrene = 30 shavings = 2 The vapour pressure of air at 31C and 70 % relative humidity is 3150 N/n , falling to 1230 N/m at 10C and 100 % relative humidity. The heat resistance (R) of the total package can be written as :

ai

_1 + l_

j=l

dj
Xj

m2 K/W

R = _1 + 0.75 + 0.12 + 0.08 25 0.30 2.4 0.07 = 2.55 + 1.15 = 3.7 m 2 K/W The floor temperature T = 31 - j=y^
x

(31 _ 10) = 24.5C

The vapour diffusion resistance of the package is : = 0.08 x 2 + 0.12 x 200 + 0.75 x 20 = 0.16 + 39 = 39.16 m The vapour pressure to be expected at the surface of the concrete floor is as follows. : P = 3150 3

'^

x (3150 - 1230)

2 while the maximum vapour pressure at 24.5C is 3075 N/m ; this means there will be condensation on the concrete floor. If we assume there is a layer of insulation (polystyrene 0.05 m thick) on the floor, then the heat resistance : R = 2.55 + 'f + 1.15 =3.98 + 1.15 = 5.13 m 2 K/W U .Odb temperature T = 31 1 15 ' x (31 - 10) = 31 - 4.7

= 3150 - 7.8 = 3142 N/m 2

The increased floor

= 26.3C The diffusion resistance H a = 0.08 x 2 + 0.05 x 30 + 0.12 x 200 + 0.75 x 20 = 0.16 + 4.05 = 40.66 m The expected vapour pressure R = 3150 - .' . x (3150 -1230) 40.00 = 3142 N/m2. while the maximum vapour pressure at 26.3C is 3420 N/m ; there will thus be no condensation.

1) 2)

= heat transmission resistance coefficient = vapour diffusion resistance coefficient

177
4. THE EXPERIMENT On one farm with two identical broiler houses the floor of one house was insulated by lining the floor with polystyrene slabs 0.05 m thick covered with plastic film (0.15 mm). Chopped straw was then spread on the floors of both houses. The dry matter content of the straw was measured during one spring and one summer fattening period. The straw on the insulated floor was found to be appreciably drier (Fig. 1 ) . During the summer fattening period the concentration and emission of NH where also measured, because it was expected that there would be less heating in the drier straw and hence less production of NH This was in fact confirmed (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 ) . Weekly samples of air were taken and tested by an odour panel of 10 persons, giving the results illustrated in Fig. 4. At the end of the summer fattening period the broilers were slaughtered and evaluated according to the criteria "wrong legs" and "blistered briskets" (Table 1 ) . At the same time, the litter was subjected to chemical analysis (Table 2). A small difference in pH value resulted in a higher nitrogen content in the litter from the insulated floor - a phenomenon already described by Elliot et al. 5. THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS Although we realize that the two experiments do not provide an adequate basis for significant results, the findings should be of interest. First of all, it is evident that insulation of the floor in broiler houses is advisable if the ground water level is one metre or less below the surface. If the ground water level is lower, the soil package acts as insulation. - Dry matter content of the litter. The litter on the insulated floor was dryer in both experiments, the difference being 15 % in spring and 10 % in summer. The smaller difference in summer may be due to a lower ground water level, but a dry matter content of 70 % is very acceptable. If this litter is to be burnt for heat production, the higher dry matter content is of benefit as regards efficiency and smoke production. - Ammonia and odour. The dryer litter on the insulated floor has a lower emission of ammonia. The difference becomes evident from the third week and subsequently increases. This reduction is beneficial from the point of view of acid rain. The assessment of odour on the basis of the samples of air leaves some questions open, particularly as regards the sample taken from the broiler house with the insulated floor at seven weeks. This was the only one with higher odour emission and cannot be explained, since the other values were lower. Assuming that most odour is produced by the litter, it is reasonable to suggest that the drier litter has a lower emission level. The relative humidity in the broiler house with the insulated floor was slightly lower from the third week onwards, at 68.3 % compared with 70.9 %. - The quality of the broilers. The quality of the broilers was assessed in the slaughterhouse, with special attention being paid to the presence of blistered briskets and wrong legs. Both criteria give better results for the broilers from the house with the insulated floor. However, better quality is not rewarded by higher prices, so that insulation does not yield any direct extra profits. Economically, therefore, there is no incentive to insulate the floors, and more information is needed on this subject.

178
Table 1 : Results of the assessment of slaughtered animals WRONG LEGS animals from uninsulated floor Code normal animals from insulated floor

n
1920 1210 349 273 61 27

*
100.0 63.0 32.4

n
2644 1980 495 143 22 4

%
100.0 74.9 24.1

0
1

medium

4.6

1.0

BLISTERED BRISKETS 1433 normal light medium severe score 100.0 56.2 24.0 17.5 1202 100.0 61.3 22.3 15.4

0 1 2 3

805 343 250 35

0.66

2.5

737 268 185 12

0.56

1.0

Table 2 : : Chemical analysis of the litter. insulated floor N - total (%) NH - N (%) % ) NO, ( PH 3 - H 2 0 REFERENCES (1) (2) (3) (4) ELLIOT, H.A. and COLLINS, N.E. Factors affecting ammonia release in broiler houses. 1982 - Transactions of the ASAE. p. 413-419. DIEST, A. van. De bijdrage van de landbouw aan de zure regen : fantasiee'n en feiten. L en 0 (NLRO) 3/84. OUWERKERK, E.N.J. van. Vloerisolatie kan vocht in strooisel voorkomen. Pluimveehouderij (14e jaargang), 13 januari 1984. OUWERKERK, E.N.J, van. Vloerisolatie maakt strooisel droger. Gevolg : vermindering van ammoniakontwikkeling. Pluimveehouderig (14e jaargang), 22 juni 1984. KLARENBEEK, J.V. IMAG-nota 161 (HAB), 1984 OUWERKERK, E.N.J, van. Verslag van een proef met vloerisolatie in een slachtkuikenstal. IMAG-nota 149 (HAB), xnr. 10438, november 1984. 5.10 1.04 0.0038 8.4 uninsulated floor 4.23 1.48 0.0034 8.5

(5) (6)

179

100 '

% dry matter

85 ^ - - - ^ w i t h
\

85
with

,,
without " insulation of the floor spring

65
without insulat]5Tt*" of the floor

70 60

50-

_i

weeks ^

FIG. 1 : Dry matter contents of litter from broilerhouse in spring and summer 1984

mg N H 3 / ,

20

24

28

32

36

40

days ^ FIG. 2 : Concentration of NH

180
gr N H 3 / / h 2 7 0 0 0 broilers

with insulation of the floor

20

24

28

32

36

40
^>

days FIG. 3 : Emission of NH

10
.definite at thresholdlevel

15

20

25

30
days

35

40
^

FIG. 4 : Emission of Odour

1 8 1
USE OF PEAT AS Ll'lTEK FOR MILKING OOWS I. Peltola Work Efficiency Association, Finland This study compared the advandages and disadvantages of peat, straw and sawdust for use as litter. The way in which peat is used, the amounts used and the effect of the litter on the structural parts of the tying-stall shed and on the labour requirement were investigated, and the quality of milk, the incidents of mastitis and the value of the manure were studied. The results show that peat absorbs urine and binds ammonia better than the other litters tested. Peat manure contains more than the average amounts of nitrogen and magnesium, and the nutriens are in the form that is more readily utilised by plants. The ammonia contents of the cowshed air were slightly lower with peat litter than with either straw or sawdust. The difficulty in peat was in handling it. There were no significant differences between the three litters in terms of the labour required. On the other hand, peat was more difficult to store during the cold winter because it tended to freeze. Urine separation systems were easily blocked by peat. The dust content of the cowshed air rose when peat was used. The litter had no affect on the state of health of the animals or on the quality of the milk. These factors are affected more by conditions on the farm in question. Peat was found to be suitable for use as litter. Flexible use of peat requires storage, spreading method and manure removal be designed specifically for peat. These factors are being studied in the final part of the work, which is still in progress.

1. INTRODUCTION The aim of this three year joint study was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of peat, straw and sawdust for litter as comprehensively as possible. In Finland straw is used on 67% of farms, sawdust on 25% and peat on 3% of dairy farms. Only about 3% of farms use no litter at all. The use of peat as litter was compared with sawdust and straw on 15 dairy farms during the indoor feeding period of 1983- 84. For the first 3 months 5 farms used straw as litter, 5 used sawdust and 5 peat. At the end of this period all the farms changed over to peat litter. All the cowsheds had tying-stalls, from which the manure was removed in solid form. The use of peat as litter was studied in Finland in the 1930s and 40s. Today, peat is harvested mechanically by means of a milling cutter, which creates fine particle peat. Cowsheds have also changed with respect to the use of peat with the mechanisation of manure removal. At the same time workers are now demanding better working conditions.

182
2. PROPERTIES OF Ll'lThK PEAT Litter peat is the surface peat removed fran the bog before cutting of fuel peat. As fuel peat production increases, so the amount surface peat removed also grows. Around 1 million m3 of surface peat is lifted every year in Finland, and the figure is expected to rise to 2-3 million m3 a year by the 1990 (1). Surface peat is used mainly far horticultural purposes. The properties of the peat vary, depending on the place in the bog frcm were it ccmes. The surface layer provides the best litter peat. Lifting peat from deeper in the bog results in the inclusion of layers of more highly decomposed peat, which is not as good for use as litter. Freshly cut peat usually contains 40-60% water. Litter peat, however, must not contain more than 40% water, since its absorption capacity and storability both decrease with increasing water content. Good quality litter peat should be Sphagnum fuscum peat. A suitable degree of decomposition is 2-3. Raw Sphagnum peat is acidic, with a pH of 3.0-4.5. Its total nitrogen content 1.0-1.5% of dry matter. 3. AMMONIA-BINDING CAPACITY Because its acidic character, peat binds ammonia well. The ammonia-binding capacities of the different litters were measured in the laboratory. Aqueous ammonia solution was applied to the peat, which was then dried under reduced pressure. The results showed that peat can bind up to 2.5% of its dry weight of ammonia (Fig. 1). The ammonia is so strongly bound that it does not evaporate even when the peat dries. The binding capacity of straw and sawdust is less than 1% (2). From the point of view of the binding of ammonia, it is important that the peat is Sphagnum fuscum peat. Earlier studies (3) have shown that other varieties of peat bind only 0.26-0.86% of their dry weight of ammonia.

183
1009080 70 60 50403020100 fSawdust, cutter shavings

/-^_____y====^

~"

\ \

Straw 1 I Peat

1
1
1

1
i 1

1 1 i 1 2 1 3 4 5 Ammonia content, % of litter dry matter

Figure 1.

Ammonia-binding capacity laboratory conditions.

of the three

litters

under

4. LIQUID-BINDING CAPACITY The absorption capacity of the litter determines the amount used, and also affects the functioning of hydraulic manure presses. The absorption capacity of litter depends on its initial moisture content. In the laboratory tests , peat had a much greater absorption capacity than other litters. Peat absorbed a maximum of 4.5 times its own weight of liquid, straw 3.5 times, cutter shavings 3.6 times and sawdust 1.5 times (4). The litters used in the tests had an initial moisture content of 20%, with the exception of peat, which contained 40% moisture. These moisture contents represent the working values for good-quality litters. Peat was far superior in terms of absoption capacity to the other litters. Litter should retain its absorption capacity even when under pressure, for example in a hydraulic manure press. The ability of litters to withstand pressure was tested by first allowing them to absorb either water or urine. The litters were then compressed in a hydraulic press for one hour as the pressure was increased stepwise from 20 N/cm2 to 50 N/cm2. The pressure exerted by hydraulic manure presses in practice is around 40-60 N/cm2. All the retained urine better than water. Sawdust was found to have the greatest resistance to pressure, retaining about 75% of the absorbed

184
liquid. Cutter shavings retained 40% of water and 52% of the urine, while chopped straw retained 46-50% of i t s absorbed liquid. Peat showed the lowest retention of liquid, keeping only 19% of the water and 33% of the urine (Fig. 2 ) .
Water binding coefficient before pressing Peat 4.4B

Cutter 3.64 shavings Straw 2.89 Water binding coefficient after pressing Sawdust 1.52 1.47 Cutter shavings 1.34 Straw 1.14 Sawdust .96 Peat

Pressure 20 N /cm2 t = 20min

Pressure 3SN/cm2 t=20min

t=20min

50/V/cm 2

Pressure

Figure

Effect of pressure on water-binding litters.

capacity

of

The results indicate that special attention should be given to the efficiency of urine separation on farms using peat. Manure presses should be fitted with seme means of urine separation so that urine pressed from the litter can be led out of the press chute. This is essential for the smooth operation of the manure press. The urine separation system in the troughs, perforated plates or scale plates may become blocked when peat is used. Provision should be made for flushing out the urine separation pipes in the case of a blockage. Various types of perforated plate are currently being studied with respect to their susceptibility to blocking. 5. NUTRIENT-BINDING CAPACITY Samples of manure were collected from the farms during both experimental periods. The samples were used for nutrient content determinations and for a pot experiment in which Italian rye grass was cultivated. The nutrient contents obtained were compared with the

185
values for the farm in question during the use of different litters, and with the grouped means for the different litter manures. Peat manures contained statistically significantly more total nitrogen, magnesium and dry matter. The lowest nutrient contents were found in the sawdust manures. The pot experiment showed the same differences. The rye grass was cut four times. The greatest differences in the increase in dry matter yield were obtained with the second crop. As all pots received the same basic phosphorus, potassium and magnesium fertilizer, the differences in yield were due to the amount of available nitrogen contained in the litter manures (Fig. 3). In addition 31% of the total nitrogen in the peat manure was comparable with the nitrogen present in commercial fertilizer, compared with only 19% in the case of straw manure and sawdust manure (2).

30'
o

tfc

-yield increase with straw manure yield increase with sawdust manure yield increase with peat manure yield without fertilizer

Uj

I
-'?'Jr-C'-

Cut
F- value

fftllfflftl
I U

izi
IY
12.1 TOTAL

II 7.7

8.8

8.4

Figure 3. Effect of litter on fertilizer value of manure in pot experiment. 6. EFFECT OF PEAT ON COWSHED AIR 6.1. Dust content of air The dust content of the air in the cowsheds was measured in connection with routine care of the cattle. Measurements were made

186
over a period of 1-3 hours. Dust samples were collected by drawing the air through a filter at the rate of 1.7 1/min. The filter pore size was 0.8 um. The dust contents of the air were higher when peat was used than when the other litters were used (5). Table I: Dust contents of air during use of different litters. Fixed measuring point. litter dust content of air standard no. of mg/m3 of air deviation measurements 1.24 0.53 0.10 0.24 0.13 0.67 0.65 0.29 0.20 0.28 0.23 0.66 11 6 4 4 3 28

peat alone peat and straw straw alone straw and sawdust sawdust alone all farms Variance analysis highly significant According to between peat alone and straw and peat

showed the diffemces between the groups to be F(4,23) = 7.43, p< 0.001. the t-tests, there was a significant difference and all the other litters, and also between straw combined.

3 The differences found in the NH content of the cowshed air during the use of the different litters were not as clear as in the case of dust contents. The contents measured were generally very low. On farms using peat, the ammonia content of the at the tyingstall at milking height was 2.1 ppm, whereas on the other farms it averaged 3.2 ppm. The corresponding ammonia contents during manure removal were 3.5 ppm for peat and 4.0 ppm on the other farms (5). The ammonia content of the air was determined using a Drager detector tube, which is not very accurate, particularly at low concentrations. In theory the acidic nature of of peat suggests it should bind ammonia far better than the other litters. However, the results obtained indicate that the use of peat freshens up the cowshed air only if the manure removal and urine separation systems are working efficiently. On the basis of a sensory evaluation, the air in cowsheds using peat was slightly fresher than that in the other cowsheds. The same result was obtained in the farm interviews. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed no obstacles to the use of peat as cowshed litter. The quality of the milk and the health of the animals are affected more by the general standards of hygiene than the type of

6.2. NH3 QONTENT OF AIR

187
litter used. The advandages derived from using peat depend greatly on the qualiity of the peat. The absorption capacity of dry peat is best exploited in cowsheds were all the urine is absorbed by the litter. In this case, the amount of peat required is far less than that of either straw or sawdust. In cowsheds with a urine well, the use of peat as litter permits some reduction in the size of the well. The economic advandage of using peat lies in the better utilization of nutrients. At 1984 prices, the saving achieved by retaining the nutrients is about 6 Finnish marks (about 0.9 USD), per cubic meter of peat used. The price of peat Hitter is about 20 marks/m3 (3 USD). Additional benefit is derived frcm the soil improvement effect resulting frcm long-term use, and from the lower cost of constructing the building if the urine well can be made smaller or emitted altogether. References 1. KYTO, M., SIPILA, K. & THUN, R. 1983. Pintaturve maanparannusaineena ja kuivikkeena. Sunmary: Weakly decomposed peat for soil improvement and litter. Technical Research Centre of Finland. Research notes 240. KEMPPAINEN, E. 1984. Kuivikkeen vaikutus lannan arvoon. Effect of litter on value of manure (in Finnish). Kasikirjoitus. Manuscript. 15 p. TUCRILA, P. 1929. Bindungsvermogen verschiedener Torfarten fur Stickstoff in Form von Ammoniak. Ability of different peat types to bind nitrogen in the form of ammonia (in German). Sucmen Suovilj. yhd. julk. 9. PELTOEA, I. 1984. Kuivikkeiden nesteenpidatyskyvyt testissa. Summary: The absorptivity of different litters. Tyotehoseuran rakennustiedotus 200. 6 p. PELTOLA, I. 1984. Kuivikkeen vaikutus navettailmaan. Sunmary: The effect of dry litter upon tying-stall shed air. Tyotehoseuran maataloustiedotus 317. 4 p.

2.

3.

4.

5.

COVERING MANURE STORING TANKS TO CONTROL ODOUR H. MANNEBECK Institut fiir Landwirtschaftliche Verfahrenstechnik der Universitat Kiel

Summary More and more an effective covering on liquid manure tanks becomes the only convenient possibility to get restocking permitted. The odour reduction efficiency of different types of coverings have got different modes of operation. They show clear differences in their efficiency and must be valued according to the guideline VDI 3471 Emission control, livestock management - pigs or 3472 - ... - poultry farming.

1. INTRODUCTION The possibilities of development for livestock farming enterprises are often limited by the olfactory emissions they cause. The manure storing tank can be - at least at pig and poultry keeping - the most intensive single odour source. Therefore the less odourous storing of manure in order to reduce immissions is very important. A relative simple solution is offered by covering the manure storing tank. 2. VALUATION ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINE VDI 3471 - EMISSION CONTROL, LIVESTOCK MANGEMENT - PIGS (1) According to the guideline VDI 3471 the manure storing tank gets from 100 possible points: 0 points 25 points 40 points - with uncovered manure surface - with closed permanent floating cover - as a closed tank

What large effects this can have is shown with a typical example: - location of the farm: in or close to a village - distance to the nearest dwelling houses: 115 m - pig fattening shall be enlarged In a village 50% of the least distance figured out in the guideline VDI 3471 are sufficient. Distance in the diagram: 115 m : 0,5 = 230 m With the choice of the manure removing system, the lay out of ventilation and with the location of the extraction shafts are, concerning the stall, 60 points easily reached. The result: 60 points 85 points 100 points - with uncovered tanks without floating crust - with closed permanent floating crust (60 + 25) - with a closed tank (60 + 40)

189
The distance diagram shows the possible livestock units, table 1.

distance 115 m in or to a village or 230 m to a residential area

points in livestock LU VDI-3471

100
85 60 (50)

100 72 45 (38)

number of type of fattening pigs covering tight 770 coverings permanent 554 crust 345 none none, new guideline

(292)

Table 1. Practicable livestock relative to a fixed distance. On the same conditions it is possible to keep more than twice as much livestock units only by covering the storing tanks. Therefore there must be strict rules at the valuation of different types of covering the manure storing tanks. So it mostly won't be possible to accept makeshift solutions. In case of poultry keeping - guideline VDI 3472 (2) - a similar valuation will be found. 3. CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF COVERING DEVICES The different types of covering devices mainly devide up into three groups: - natural floating crusts - artificial floating covers set up of pourings set up of mats or tarpaulin - close covering devices and light construction roofs 3.1 NATURAL FLOATING CRUSTS Natural floating crusts arise preponderantly on cattle manure. The coarse solids form here a very tight and strong floating crust. On pig and poultry manure normally floating crusts arise only for a time or not at all. On a mixture of cattle and pig manure there is the arising of an efficient permanent floating crust sure, if there is at least a contents of 50 I cattle manure. Therefore this solution is only possible for a few farms. Before the tank is being emptied, the floating crust must be destroyed by stiring and homogenizing. It takes a few weeks until a new floating crust will appear. 3.2 ARTIFICIALLY SET UP FLOATING CRUSTS SET UP OF POURINGS It is also possible to set up floating crusts consisting of chopped straw, plastic foam pellets or a combination of straw and pellets. The floating straw crust arises most reliably by addition of straw into the mixing pit. It will be destroyed by homogenizing and so it has to arise again after each single land spreading. A floating crust consisting of plastic foam pellets shows small efficience, is very reliable to wind and there will be lost material by wind influence or at the land spreading. More efficient and also safer is a floating crust consisting of one layer of straw with a layer of plastic foam pellets below as a float. It is insensible to weather influences. An even width of the layers of for example 15 cm straw and 5 cm pellets below can hardly be realized.

190
There will be a loss of straw and plastic foam pellets, because this floating crust is easily being damaged by stiring. The production and maintenance requires a great expenditure of work. 3.3 ARTIFICIAL FLOATING COVERS SET UP OF MATS AND TARPAULIN A floating cover of plastic texture with an about 15 mm thick layer of plastic foam pellets is insensitive to weather influences and rainwater is able to pass it. Homogenizing the tank contents doesn't make any problems. Floating covers set up of tarpaulin consist of reinforced tarpaulin like it is used as lorry tilts. The tarpaulin is stretched by an in-drawn ring-shaped PVC tube. It is also working as a float, so it is impossible that manure gets from the border onto the surf ace of the tarpaulin. Adjusting devices of jet mixers and inlet tubes pass it through conical sockets. 3.4 TIGHT COVERINGS AND LIGHT CONSTRUCTION ROOFS For a tight covering of the tanks especially tarpaulins, however they have supporting constructions or not, are very useful. 3.41 COVERINGS WITHOUT SUPPORTING CONSTRUCTIONS Self-supporting tarpaulins, which are attached to the tank border are only suitable for small tanks.

'plastic cover (tarpaulinT ^_ inflated '^^/^PT.O dnven mixer

FiR.l. Inflatable truncated cone shaped tarpaulin as a tight covering Especially for tanks with a great diameter and for steel and wooden tanks truncated cone shaped tarpaulins are very useful, because they do not burden the tank wall very much. If the tank is empty, the tarpaulin must touch the center of the tank bottom in order to support bigger water or snow loads. With increasing contents the tarpaulin starts floating on the manure surface, fig.l. On steel tanks the tarpaulin which has been reinforced at the border with a rope is fastened by an additional fixing rim.The mounting is difficult and demands a great expenditure of work.

191
On wooden or on concrete tanks the tarpaulin has to be fit out with loops at the border. The tank border is pasted with felt, so that the tarpaulin can be stretched over the tank border and is fixed on hooks in the tank wall. The tanks are nearly tight now. To exclude damaging the covering by homogenizing with an impeller mixer, the tarpaulin can be inflated before mixing. This is dispensible if it is used a hydraulic mixing system. 3.2 COVERINGS WITH SUPPORTING CONSTRUCTIONS So far self-supporting light construction roofs are only used for tanks up to a diameter of 12 m. Onto a supporting construction set up of steel or wooden trusses a roofing set up of corrugated material or timber is mounted. These roofs are quite expending, but they mostly cannot be accepted as a tight covering. More advantageous is a roofing set up of reinforced tarpaulin. It is stretched onto the tank with a bracing rope and a system of loops and hooks.
plastic cover (tarpaulin)

stainless steel rope

. - supporting post

lg>

' -" " - "^^

f f <*T

S f / t * t s / , / z

'<ssm

Fig.2. Truncated cone shaped tarpaulin on a central supporting post Truncated cone shaped tarpaulins on a central supporting post are also suitable for tanks with a great diameter. At the top of the supporting post there is a big ring or a mushroom-shaped head in order to avoid stressing the tarpaulin punctiformly. The central supporting post is tightened to the tank border with ropes, fig.2.

o ooourliM air ^ odcur loadtd air ^ clcantd air

Fig.3. Light construction roof and biofilter on an aerobic treatment plant

192
In case of dwelling houses (size 2 to 4 m5 moss is able to aerobic treatment or storing tanks located extremely near it can be necessary to treat the exhaust air. A biofilter operated with a small fan and filled up with moist peat avoid odour problems, fig.3.

4. ODOUR REDUCTION EFFICIENCY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF COVERINGS AND THEIR VALUATION ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINE VDI 3471 According to the strict rules, as confirmed before, 25 points only should be accepted with at least 60 %, and 40 points with at least 85 % odour reduction efficiency. The odour reduction efficiency can be measured by using an olfactometer and additional equipment. A constant air stream is passing through a hood, adjusted to the slurry surface, crust or cover. One part of the exhausted odour loaded air is fed into the olfactometer. The different types of coverings have got different modes of operation. They show clear differences in their efficiency and must be valued according to the guidelines VDI 3471 and 3472. From nearly tight coverings and roofs only a very small flow rate of produced gases can be emitted. The emission by air exchanging is set to zero. Therefore the odour reduction efficiency of those coverings compared with an uncovered open manure surface is 95 to 100 %. 40 points can be accepted, fig.4.

40(50)

25(30)

Fig.4. Odour reduction efficiency of different types of coverings Roofs can only get 40 points, if they are nearly tight. Corrugated material without a packing in the tank border doesn't fulfill the requisitions and only 25 points can be accepted, because the efficiency is less 85 %. Floating tarpaulins don't keep close to the wall. An open gap is unavoidable. The odour reduction efficiency is mostly not more than 80 %. Only 25 points can be accepted.

193
The impermeable floating mat shows nearly the same efficiency as a permeable tarpaulin and is much better than all tested artificial floating crusts. Among these only the combination of straw and plastic foam pellets shows an odour reduction of more than 60 %, and 25 points can be accepted. Natural floating crusts in a tank containing at least 50 % cattle manure get 60 to 85 % efficiency and 25 points can be accepted. Floating crusts set up just of straw or plastic foam pellets and makeshift solutions cannot be accepted. Their odour reduction is mostly less 60 %. 5. UTILITZATION PERIOD AND COSTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF COVERINGS The actual utilization period and the real costs of the different types of coverings are not exactly known up to now. The existing dates and estimates are shown in table 2. type of cover straw plastic foam pellets straw.plastic foam pell floating mat floating tarpaulin truncated cone tarpaulin light weight roof concrete cover expenditure price of the estimated material utilization DM/fattening pig 2 period (years) (DM/m ) 0.5 2.0 20 100 100 15.0 15.0 20.0 05 30 2.5 25.0 30.0 40.0 600 80-120 0.25 0 20 0.15 0.30 0.35 0.35 0.50 0.60 - 0.75

Table 2. Estimated costs of different types of coverings. The better the odour reduction efficiency of the covering the higher the investment. Regarding the utilization period the costs per cubic meter liquid manure (and with that also per fattening pig) are about - 0,3 DM per m 1 for a 25-point-covering and - 0,5 DM per m 1 for a 40-point-covering. Regarding the higher requirement of working hours for education and maintenance the floating crust set up of the combination of straw and plastic foam pellets costs about 0,3 DM per m'. Totally the discussed coverings are useful possibilities to control immissions. For a lot of farms located in villages or in a short distance to residential quarters an effective covering on the liquid manure storing tanks is the only convenient possibility to get restocking permitted. REFERENCES (1) VDI 3471: Emission control, livestock management - pigs 1977, 1984 (2) VDI 3472: Emission control, livestock management - poultry farming 1982 (3) MANNEBECK, H., Abdeckung von Fliissigmistbehaltern zur Geruchsminderung. Vortrage zur Hochschultagung, Schriftenreihe der Agrarwissenschaftlichen Fakultat der Universitat Kiel, Heft 61 (1980)

194
MACHINERY SPREADING: SOIL INJECTION AS A BARRIER TO ODOUR DISPERSION

J. E HALL Water Research Centre, Medmenham Laboratory, UK

Summary The dispersal of odours during and after surface spreading of farm slurries and sewage sludges is to the public the most significant cause of complaint in manure handling and disposal. Whilst good tanker design and cultivation after spreading can limit the problem to some extent, soil injection is the only technique which can potentially eliminate the problem entirely. Apart from odour control there are a number of other important environmental and agronomic advantages such as the control of surface run-off, improvements in pasture hygiene and better nutrient management by preventing ammonia volatilisation. However, soil injection is not a panacea as there are constraints such as higher operating costs, the difficulties of certain soil types and the extra weather dependency. Nevertheless, the costs of injection must be considered not only in the light of the potential benefits and its flexibility of operation but also with regard to the costs of alternative means of treatment and disposal to achieve the same standard of environmental acceptability.

INTRODUCTION Unlike the variable and diffuse odours associated with animal housing, slurry storage and sewage treatment, the surface spreading of animal slurries and sewage sludges on farm land has a discrete point source which potentially can be eliminated by soil injection. The control of aerial pollution is perhaps the most valued benefit of soil injection and, although there are a number of other important agronomic considerations, there are also some constraints on the technique. These constraints are mitigated by the costs of alternative means of treatment and disposal to reach the same level of environmental acceptability. This last point is of particular concern to the water industry as the proposed EC directive on the use of sewage sludge in agriculture would prohibit the spreading of unstabilised sludges unless immediately incorporated or injected (1). In the UK about one third of the sludge spread on land is unstabilised. THE ODOUR PROBLEM Half of the farm-related odour complaints in the UK are concerned with the spreading of manures on the land. The problem has two phases; firstly the action of spreading which, although of short duration, can give rise to aerosols and odours that can drift several kilometers. 2.

1.

195
Secondly, there is the longer term problem of slurry lying exposed over large areas of ground which can generate odours as well as attract flies and vermin for some time. The degree of nuisance during and after spreading depends a great deal on the prevailing weather conditions. Odours are dispersed most rapidly by strong winds and bright sunshine however, these conditions also encourage rapid ammonia volatilisation. Such losses of ammonia can be large (eg 2,3) with consequent and unpredictable reductions in the fertiliser value of slurry as well as possible deleterious effects of atmospheric ammonia on the environment (1). SLURRY SPREADING EQUIPMENT Table 1 summarises the features of equipment design which influence the risks of odour problems arising from surface spreading. There are numerous combinations of these features to be found in slurry tankers however, tanker design is often directed more to productivity in terms of speed of operating and area of ground covered rather than to minimising odour and aerosol production. Table 1 Equipment design and relative risks of odour and aerosol production Means of Discharge Vacuum Small Pump Auger Large Gravity High Splash Plate Dribble Bar Droplet Size Trajectory Distribution Device Gun ODOUR RISK High

3.

Low

Injector

Low

Vacuum tankers which distribute slurry through high trajectory guns are the worst combination of features as these produce small droplet sizes and frequently cause aerosol clouds particularly when the tank empties. Such aerosols have been detected eight kilometers downwind during spreading operations. Low slurry trajectory and large droplet size are less likely to cause such intense odour problems at spreading therefore careful selection of equipment is important. (There are approximately 280 tanker models from 10 manufacturers available in the UK (5).) Gravity discharge through a dribble bar or curtain minimises the problems during spreading as far as possible but such equipment is much slower than the vacuum tanker with gun and moreover, the odour problems after spreading are likely to be the same following either type of tanker. Soil injection is the only technique which potentially eliminates the aerial pollution problem entirely and with the new generation of equipment available now, the speed of injection operations can be similar to surface spreading.

196
1. 4.1 SOIL INJECTION Equipment Design Current soil injection equipment owes much to the development of narrow tines for injecting anhydrous ammonia and to improvements in soil loosening equipment (6,7,8). Ammonia injection causes little soil disturbance and is adequate for incorporating volumes of only 1.0 to 2.5 m /ha but the amounts of slurry which are normally applied are up to 100 times greater and much greater soil disturbance is required to ensure complete incorporation. The addition of wings to subsoiling equipment was found to significantly increase the area of soil disturbance with only small increases in the draught force required. The amount of soil disturbance and hence the surface roughness may be controlled by altering the width of the implement tip and the lift height of the wings; wide tips and high lift wings give greater disturbance than narrow tips and low lift wings. The voids thus created in the soil are sufficiently large and well distributed to absorb large volumes of slurry which are introduced under the soil surface either by a pipe fixed to the rear of the tine or by using a hollow tine down which the sludge may be pumped. Although successful injection of slurry may be achieved with simple, non-winged tines, such tines cause relatively little soil disturbance and the working depth has to be greater in order to achieve the sane injection rates as winged tines operating at 150-200 mm. This is illustrated by Figure 1 (9). The slurry tends to remain in the slot formed by simple tines which can result in poor control of surface run-off on sloping ground and subsequent crop growth is generally more uneven. There is also a greater risk of simple tines working beyond their critical depth where the effect of the tine changes from soil loosening to soil compaction. Winged tines require a higher draught force than simple tines for a given working depth, but this is more than compensated for by being able to effectively incorporate slurry at shallower depths and therefore at lower draughts than simple tines as shown by Figure 2 (9). Furthermore, higher rates of application can be achieved with winged tines for a given depth compared with simple tines (Figure 1 ) . Side inclined tines have recently been developed for injection; these do not have wing attachments and they work at a comparable depth to simple tines but their shape offers a lower draught force requirement and less surface disturbance. The maximum practicable application rate is around 110 m /ha injected at 150-200 mm. Whilst higher rates can be achieved the amount of soil cover over the slurry-soil mix is reduced with greater risks of slurry coming to the surface. The distribution of slurry and hence nutrients in the soil, both vertically and laterally, is a function of tine type and spacing. Table 2 gives the evenness of grass response with the depth and spacing of the different types of tine (10). It is clear that, in this example at least, the simple tine placed the slurry deeper than both the winged and inclined tines and produced the most uneven crop response despite having the narrowest tine spacing. The inclined tine produced the most even grass response, although these tines were 100 mm closer together than the winged tines, and this resulted in more nitrate in the 75-150 mm depth. At this depth, the soil is likely to be aerobic over a much wider range of conditions and therefore mineralisation and nitrification will proceed more readily than at greater depth.

197

200 simple 160 -

120

80

>

40

T 100

150

200

250

300

350

DEPTH OF INJECTION (mm) Figure 1 Volumes of slurry injected at different depths by winged and simple injection tines.

simple

T 100

150

200

250

DEPTH OF INJECTION (mm) Figure 2 Draught force required by winged and simple injection tines operated at different depths.

198
Table 2 Effect of tine injection (10) Tine type simple winged inclined type on evenness Depth mm of grass response 8 weeks after

Spacing ram

% of Surface Showing Grass Response

550 700 600

260 170
70-160

30 75 90

Injection into arable land is far less critical than into grassland as surface finish is not important and the tines may be positioned closer together so that they interact resulting in greater disturbance and more even distribution of slurry. Generally the maximum disturbance created by simple tines is obtained at a spacing 1.5 times their working depth; for winged tines the spacing will be greater depending on wing width. On grassland it is important that the zones of soil disturbance do not interact as this could result in excessive root damage particularly in dry soils. For tines with 300 mm wings operating at 150 mm depth optimum spacing in grassland is 650 mm under most conditions reducing to 500 mm when injecting heavy soils in the spring. Obviously if injecting into a row crop like maize, tine spacing must suit that of the rows and care is required to avoid root disturbance. Grassland injectors have very narrow tips and low lift wings and operate with castor type disc coulters to minimise soil heave and sward damage. Following press wheels produce a level finish and close the slot to seal the slurry in without exerting sufficient pressure to force the slurry out. Where no press wheel is provided, the field should be rolled as soon as the land is trafficable and before stock are returned. The angle of rake of the injector tine has some influence on the quality of surface finish and tends to be a compromise between the lower draught requirements of a forward inclined tine but greater pursing of the turf round the injector shank, and the backward inclined tine where draught is higher but sward finish is superior. 4.2 1.2.1 BENEFITS OF INJECTION

Odour Complete control of odours in the field requires care to ensure that no slurry is released at the surface, either by injecting at too high a rate for the conditions or through releasing slurry before the injection tines have fully penetrated the soil, and at the end of the run lifting the equipment before shutting off the slurry flow. Competent and well trained operators are essential. The major benefit from odour control is that it releases land otherwise barred to slurry spreading through its proximity to housing. This is equally important to both the farmer and water authority. For the farmer it removes pressure from other areas of the farm and allows more efficient utilisation of the nutrients in the slurry, and for the water authority, it can result in substantial savings in transport costs as farm

199
land within urban areas is generally nearer to the sewage treatment works. Sludges and slurries which have been stabilised, particularly by anaerobic digestion, have no offensive smell, but injection may still be desirable to prevent aerosol production during spreading and for visual and aesthetic reasons. Surface Run-off Pollution of watercourses generally results from excessive rates of application of slurry and from heavy rainfall following surface spreading resulting in run-off. The slope of the ground is also a critical factor. The risks of surface run-off can be significantly reduced by injection provided that there is sufficient soil cover to contain the slurry. The risks to groundwater are probably no more or less than for surface spreading provided injection is limited to the rooting zone. Injection into dry cracked soils is inadvisable due to the possible risk of slurry running directly into land drains and watercourses. Ross et al (11) in monitoring run-off quality for a range of pollution parameters from grass and cultivated contour plots which had received cow slurry to the surface or injected, found that injection 'essentially eliminated any pollutant yield in the run-off. Slurries with low dry solids contents will be much more susceptible to surface run-off than thick slurries. Vetter and Steffens (12) showed that on a slope of 9-13%, rotary cultivation prevented the run-off of slurry. Injection along the contour can effectively prevent run-off however this is not always possible and on gradients of over 10%, normal practice is to inject down the slope. The concern here is that the injection slot may act as a drain and Godwin and Warner (9) have shown that application rates should be decreased for sewage sludges less than 5% ds as the slope increases. Above 5% ds, slope had no effect on sludge movement where winged tines were used (Figure 3 ) . Figure 3. Effect of slope upon the maximum application rate 1.2.2

z 150r

>5% ds.

o
M

< 5 7 o ds. 6 9 12 15

SLOPE ( d e g r e e s )

200
1.2.3 Implications for livestock a) Crop taint It is well known that cattle do not relish grazing where their own slurry has been surface spread previously and can result in reduced intakes of herbage. Pain and Broom showed that soil injection can avoid this problem (13). They compared grazing behaviour of dairy cows on paddocks surface spread or injected with cow slurry at 25 t/ha and nitrogen fertiliser applied at the equivalent nitrogen rate of the slurry of 60 kg N/ha. The cattle on the surface slurry treatment consumed about 30% less herbage dry matter than those on the other two treatments (Table 3). Grazing behaviour in terms of time spent walking, size of bite etc was less effected on the injection treatment than the surface applied. Table 3 Amounts of herbage available and removed by cows (kg DM per cow per day) From reference 13. Fertiliser Herbage available Herbage removed Herbage removed as % available b) 2t.1 12-3 Injected Slurry Surface Applied 21.1

19.9 11.3

8.1

51

58

to

Pathogens The pathogenic content of slurry depends largely on the health of the animals on the farm, but with sewage sludge, apart from the general health of the population, additional sources of potential infection come from abattoirs, hospitals, meat processing factories, tanneries etc. The organisms of principle concern in sewage sludges are salmonella and taenia saginata the human beef tape worm. UK national guidelines (11) specify a three week 'no grazing' period following the surface spreading of digested sludge on grassland as a precaution against salmonella infection, but with undigested sludge, the 'no grazing' period is extended to six months to prevent the completion of the life cycle of the beef tape worm. With animal slurry, there is no control on the return of grazing animals to pasture but farmers are advised to wait at least one month before returning stock (15). If complete burial of slurry can be guaranteed then the return of grazing animals to injected pasture would be controlled more by the state of the sward rather than the potential pathogen content of the slurry. Andrews et al (16) and Dickson and Tribe (17) have confirmed that the soil cover over injected sludge is an effective barrier to infection and that numbers of organisms fall rapidly following injection. Good farming practice would require slurry to be injected after grazing or mowing but before grass regrowth and then to allow at least three weeks before returning stock to land. This allows sufficient time for the liquid to dissipate, for the injection pathway to seal thereby preventing access by stock and for the grass to respond to the nutrients. This suggests that a 'no grazing1 period of three weeks for all sludges

201
and slurries would be appropriate provided injection is satisfactory. If deemed to be unsatisfactory because there is some material on the surface, then the 'no grazing1 period for surface applications should be adhered to. This is an important aspect of injection particularly in the light of the proposed EC directive on the use of sewage sludge in agriculture which, if implemented would prohibit the surface spreading of unstabilised sludges unless they were immediately cultivated in or injected and would require 6 weeks no grazing for stabilised sludges. c) Contaminants Slurries and sludges contain contaminants which if allowed to accumulate to excessive concentrations could present a health hazard to animals. These are primarily heavy metals such as copper and zinc in slurry derived from feedstuff additives, and in sewage sludge a much wider range of metals are found depending on the type and concentration of industry in the catchment area of the sewage treatment works. The potential problem is one of direct ingestion of soil by grazing animals where the residues of repeated applications of slurry or sludge over a number of years may accumulate in the soil surface of permanent pasture. Injection ensures that there is mixing in the soil and hence dilution of any metals present. Kirkham (18) found that metal concentrations in wheat were lower when sewage sludge was injected as opposed to surface application. An additional benefit of injection in this context is where slurry is surface applied to pasture over a period of time resulting in the undesirable concentration of organic material at the soil surface. This is of particular concern in areas of permanent grassland where there is a surplus of slurry. Ploughing and reseeding is a costly means of treatment whereas injection will help prevent such problems arising. Furthermore, injection prevents the transitory problem of surface applications smothering the grass which can result in bare patches forming, particular where thick slurries are applied under drying conditions. Cultivation effects Injection tines perform a soil loosening function as this is the necessary action to create the voids to absorb slurry. The extent of loosening depends on soil conditions and the design of the injector. In grassland, injection can provide a useful soil loosening function, particularly in permanent pasture where the compaction from the hooves of grazing animals and from vehicles can cause problems through poor drainage and restricted grass root growth. The constraint on the amount of loosening achievable is that the injected surface must be left clean and level. In arable soils, this constraint does not apply as subsequent cultivations will remove any unevenness caused by the injection tines. The tine spacing can therefore be altered to achieve maximum soil disturbance and so could perform primary cultivations particularly where stubble is injected in minimal cultivation systems. 1.2.5 Nutrient Management Apart from the theoretical benefits of placing the nutrients in the root zone, an important feature of injection is in the potential control of ammonia loss by volatilisation. Both animal slurries and digested sewage sludge contain significant quantities of ammonia and the concern is 14.2.1

202
that the immediate nitrogen fertiliser value can be greatly reduced when these materials are spread, particularly under drying conditions. The loss of ammonia can be very large and the difficulty for the farmer is that it is not readily accountable in his fertiliser budget with the consequent problem of under fertilisation. Predictive models are available but these are not really practicable propositions for the farmer (eg 19). Losses of up to 60% in seven days following spreading have been recorded from digested sludge applied under adverse drying conditions in Canada (2) for example, and in Ireland, loss of 10 - 80% were measured from pig slurry over a similar period (20). With cow slurry, losses of 2.7 kg N ha" h~ were found under warm dry conditions but significantly, under cold wet weather the losses were up to 0.3 kg N ha" h~ , conditions which are conventionally assumed to minimise ammonia losses (3). The control of ammonia loss by injection has been measured directly and indirectly through crop yields. H off et al (21) measured the proportion of applied NH ^ -N lost as NH -N from pig manure over a 3-5 day sampling ~ "--- period * J Losses were 1t.0, T2.2 and 11.2% from 90, 135 and 180 m /ha surface spread respectively Only 2.5% was lost from 90 and 180 m^/ha injected. Kolenbrander and De La Lande Cremer (22) found that air temperature at the time of slurry application influenced greatly the nitrogen efficiency of slurry surface applied but not injected (Figure t ) . Safley et al (23) showed that pig slurry injected into maize produced equal yields as the equivalent rate of fertiliser but surface applications were only 80%. Similarly an average annual increase in maize yield of 2.13 t/ha was observed by Sutton et al (2t) by injecting pig slurry compared with surface dressings. Beauchamp (25) has shown that cattle slurry injected both before and after sowing maize was 60% as effective as surface applications. Dam Kofoed (26) has found similar yield advantages for injection in trials with wheat, fodder beet and grass on loam and sandy soils. Figure 4. Effect of air temperature on the N efficiency of slurry injected ( ) or surface spread ( )

100

80 60 40 20 0 0 10 20

arable land 10 cm depth grassland 1-2 cm depth

x grassland

oU

air temperature ( C)

203
With grassland, this advantage for injection is not always so obvious. Whilst Dam Kofoed (26) and Luten et al (27) attributed higher grass yields following injection of slurry to losses of ammonia from surface applications, Kondo (28) found no advantage either way and Kolenbrander (29) reported increasing yield depression increasing with depth of injection. In fact, much depends on the soil and sward conditions and the time of year of injection and is largely related to localised sward damage around the injection tine. Much also depends on injector tine configuration (see Table 2 ) . Godwin and Warner (12) have shown that the yield following injection may be 10-20% less than from surface spreading attributable to tine losses but this may be compensated for in a later season when growth is re-established along the injection slot with greater utilisation of the remaining nutrients. 1.3 1.3.1 CONSTRAINTS ON INJECTION

Soil Conditions Soil moisture condition offers the most significant constraint on injection. On arable soils this is generally not a problem as land availability for injection is usually restricted to stubble when ground conditions are good and quality of finish is unimportant. Grassland is potentially available throughout the year apart from conservation and grazing periods, but for the full benefits of injection to be realised, adverse conditions when significant sward and soil damage can occur, need to be recognised and avoided. On very wet soils, there are the easily recognisable problems of excessive sinkage and wheelslip. Sward damage may occur earlier when compared with surface spreading of slurries under such conditions through the extra draught requirements of the injectors but this can be alleviated to some extent by fitting flotation tyres. A further constraint on heavy soils when wet, is that anaerobic conditions could prevail in the slurry channel delaying root growth (9) and hence crop response and will probably result in significant denitrification losses. Operationally this means avoiding injecting into soils above field capacity moisture content or when heavy rain is forecast. The more difficult problem is in hard, dry conditions when trafficability is not a problem but injection can result in damage to soil-root contact and cause excessive soil heave. This is most likely to occur when the soil enters a drying phase in early summer and the soil moisture deficit exceeds 10 ram (1.5 inches) although much depends on prevailing weather and sward conditions and soil type (9). Much higher soil moisture deficits can be tolerated when injecting in the autumn as surface conditions are generally moist and there is the greater probability of rainfall. A further constraint is found in stony soils. This will result in increased wear of the injector tines and whilst injection into stony arable soils is successful, when injecting into grassland stones may be brought to the surface and could present a hazard to mowing equipment if not rolled in. In soils with very large stones, the injectors are protected from damage by shear bolts or automatic spring release mechanisms but this will result in disrupted turf and slurry appearing on the surface when activated.

204
Power Requirements As shown in Figure 2 and Table 1, the draught requirement of injector tines increases with depth and that winged tines operating at 150 mm are more efficient than simple tines at greater depth. It is clear from Table 1 that soil type greatly influences draught requirement and draught forces of 2 to 6 kN per tine have been observed with winged tines operating at 150 mm (7). Power requirement is a constraint in so far as it affects the choice of injector to suit existing tractors on the farm, or it requires the purchase of a higher powered tractor. The range of power requirements quoted by injection equipment manufacturers is 80 to 120 hp for a tractor-tanker-injector combination (5), and four wheel drive is desirable. Although many farms now have tractors in this range, tractors with lower hp can be used by mounting the injection equipment directly to the tractor with slurry being supplied by a slurry tanker drawn alongside or indeed by pipe from the headland. Table 1 Draught force requirements (kN) of a winged injector tine. From references 7 and 9 Depth (mm) Loose sand 100 1.7 Clay loam 2.5 Sandy loam 2.3 Clay loam 2.5 1.3.2

150 200
1.3.3

2.5 1.0

5.0 8.0

5.0 7.1

6.5 9.8

Costs The costs of injection must be considered not only in the light of the potential benefits of the technique in minimising environmental impact, but also of the costs of alternative treatment and disposal routes to achieve equal environmental acceptability. The benefits are increasingly appreciated by the sewage sludge disposal authorities as it offers reduced transport costs where land barred to surface spreading is made available, and reduced treatment costs as in some instances the transport and injection of liquid sewage sludge is cheaper than dewatering, transporting and spreading cake sludge and indeed injection of raw sludges may be a cheaper option to stabilising sludge prior to disposal under certain circumstances. Farmers have not taken up soil injection to any great extent probably because of its apparent complexity and capital cost although low cost equipment is now available. However with increasing environmental pressures particularly on aerial pollution, farmers may yet find that injection could be an economic and acceptable solution to (at least part) of their slurry problem. CONCLUSIONS Soil injection of farm slurries and sewage sludges odour and visual problem associated with surface spreading, surface run-off and help prevent watercourse pollution. It taint and pathogen transfer on pastures and can provide with better nutrient management. 5.

eliminates the it can control can avoid crop soil loosening

205
Against these benefits must be put the extra weather dependency of injection, the constraint of certain soil types and that in grassland there may be an uneven response and small reductions in yield compared with surface spreading. There is also the issue of increased operational complexity and the capital cost of equipment. Although it is clear that injection is a more environmentally acceptable method of spreading liquid manures, it should not be viewed as a panacea but primarily as a means of increasing the flexibility of slurry and sludge spreading operations. REFERENCES (1) (2) (3) (I) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (II) (12) COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (1982). Proposal for a Council Directive on the Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture. BEAUCHAMP, E G., KIDD, G E and THURTELL, G. (1978). Ammonia volatilisation from sewage sludge applied in the field. J Env Qual, 7, 111-116. BEAUCHAMP, E G., KIDD, G E and THURTELL, G. (1982). Ammonia volatilisation from liquid dairy cattle manure in the field. Can J Soil Sci, 62, 11-19. VAN BREEMAN, N., BURROUGH, P A., VELTHORST, E J. et al. (1982). Soil acidification from atmospheric ammonium sulphate in forest canopy through fall. Nature, 299, 51t8-550. WATER RESEARCH CENTRE. (1981). Application of sewage sludge to land. A directory of equipment. Available from WRc Environment, Henley Road, Medmenham, Marlow, Bucks. GODWIN, R J and SPOOR, G. (1977). Soil failure with narrow tines. J Agric Engng Res, 22, 213-228. NEGI, S C , McKYES, E., GODWIN, R J and OGILVIE, J R. (1978). Design and performance of a liquid manure injector. Trans Am Soc Agric Engnrs. 2\_, 963-966. SPOOR, G and GODWIN, R J. (1978). An experimental investigation into the deep loosening of soil by rigid tines. J Agric Engng Res. 23, 213-258. GODWIN, R J and WARNER, N. (1984). Soil injection of sewage sludge. Contract report to WRc. SMITH, K A. (1981). Unpublished data from Muck '83, National Agricultural Centre, UK. ROSS, I J., SIZEMORE, S., BOWDEN, J P and HAAN, C T. (1979). Quality of run-off from land receiving surface application and injection of liquid dairy manure. Trans Am Soc Agric Engnrs. 22, 1058-1062. VETTER, H and STEFFENS, G. (1980). Surface run-off. In Nitrogen losses and surface run-off from landspreading of manures. Brogan, JC-(ed).Nijhoff/Junk, The Hague, 1981 70-75. PAIN, B F and BROOM, D M. (1978). The effects of injected and surface-spread slurry on the intake and grazing behaviour of dairy cows. Anim Prod. 26, 75-83. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT/NATIONAL WATER COUNCIL. (1981). Report of the sub-committee on the disposal of sewage sludges. DoE/NWC Standing Technical Committee Report 20. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD. (1982). Profitable utilisation of livestock manures. Booklet 2081. ANDREWS, D A., MAWER, S L and MATTHEWS, P J. (1983). Survival of salmonellae in sewage sludge injected into soil. Effluent and Water Treatment J, February 1983, 72-71.

(13) (11) (15) (16)

206
(17) DICKSON, P H and TRIBE, H T. (1981). A note on the fate of salmonellae, presumptive coliforns and faecal streptococci in raw sewage sludge buried in soils. Unpublished. (18) KIRKHAM, M B. (1980). Characteristics of wheat grown with sewage sludge placed at different soil depths. J Env Qual. 9 0 ) , 13-18. (19) ENGLISH, C J., MINDER, J R and KOELLIKER, J K. (1980). Volatile ammonia losses from surface applied sludge. J Water Poll Control Fed. 52(9), 2310-2350. (20) SHERWOOD, M. (1981). Fate of nitrogen applied to grassland in animal wastes. In Proc XIV Int Grassland Congress, Lexington, USA. Smith, J A and Hays, V W (eds) Westview Press, USA, 1983. (21) HOFF, J D., NELSON, D W and SUTTON, A L. (1981). Ammonia volatilisation from liquid swine manure applied to cropland. J Env Qual. J(1), 90-95. (22) KOLENBRANDER, G J and LANDE CREMER, L C N DE LA. (1967). Stalmest en gier, waarde en mogelijkheden. Veenman, Wageningen, pp 188. (23) SAFLEY, L M. , LESSMAN, G M., W0LT, J D and SMITH, M C. (1981). Comparison of corn yields between broadcast and injected applications of swine-manure slurry. In Livestock waste: a renewable resource. Am Soc Agric Engnrs, 178-180. (24) SUTTON, A L., NELSON, D W., HOFF, J D and MAYR0SE, V B. (1982). Effects of injection and surface applications of liquid swine manure on corn yield and soil composition. J Env Qual. JJ_(3), 468-472. (25) BEAUCHAMP, E G. (1983). Response of corn to nitrogen in preplant and sidedress applications of liquid dairy cattle manure. Can J Soil Sci. 63(2), 377-386. (26) DAM K0F0ED, A. (1980). Water pollution caused by run-off of manure and fertiliser. In Nitrogen losses and surface run-off from landspreading of manures. Brogan, J C (ed) Nijhoff/Junk, The Hague, 1981 70-75. (27) LUTEN, W., GEURINK, J H and W0LDRING, J J. (1983). Yield response and nitrate accumulation of herbage by injection of cattle slurry in grassland. In Efficient Grassland Farming. Corrall, A J (ed). British Grassland Society, 185-191. (28) K0ND0, H and HARAMAKI, 0. (1983). The effects of application of cow slurry to mixed swards in Hokkaido. Res Bull Hokkaido Nat Agric Exp Stn. 138, 31-19. (29) KOLENBRANDER, G J. (1980). Effect of injection of animal waste on ammonia losses by volatilisation on arable and grassland. In Nitrogen losses and surface run-off from landspreading manures. Brogan, J C (ed). Nijhoff/Junk, The Hague, 1981, 425-130.

207
SWEDISH EXPERIENCES WITH SOIL INJECTION OLLE NOREN Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering

Summary Odours released during the spreading of manure are experienced by many of the local population as very annoying. Consequently, reduction of the odour emissions in connection with spreading of manure is a very important measure. In this respect, incorporation of the manure into the soil is a good solution. Studies made in Sweden (2) show that incorporation of the manure largely reduced the emission of odour from the field. This mainly concerns the injection techniques, which in some cases reduced the odour to the background level. Increased interest has been shown with regard to the plant nutrient content of slurry and experiments both in Sweden and elsewhere have demonstrated that a better utilization of the manure's nitrogen effect is obtained if the slurry is incorporated than if spread conventionally. In a time study made when the distance between the field and the manure pit was ca 800 m total spreading capacity decreased by ca 10 % when the method was changed from conventional spreading to spreading using an injector.

1. INTRODUCTION In conventional spreading of slurry inconveniences caused by malodours may easily occur if the spreading is done close to built-up areas. These malodours may cause considerable irritation and lead to discomfort and discord. Odours released during the spreading of manure are experienced, namely, by many of the local population as more annoying than odour from the livestock building itself. This is clearly shown by an investigation conducted by the Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering (Jordbrukstekniska Institutet, JTI) and the Environmental Hygiene Dept., Karolinska Institute, and the Swedish Environment Protection Board (KI). An enquiry was made among more than 2000 homes in the neighbourhood of ten pig barns with more than 1000 pigs in each concerning how different environmental factors were experienced. The neighbours were divided into three groups namely; permanent non-farmer population, farmers and week-end population. It was found that ca 19-33 % of the people living within 1 km from the pig barn considered that manure spreading was an annoying environmental disturbance, Fig. 1. Within a radius of 2 km this figure was 8-11 % and within 3 km it was 2-6 %. Odours from the ventilated air, from manure pits, etc., annoyed fewer of the people living in the neighbourhood or, expressed in figures, 13-27, 3-8 and 1-2 3 ! within 1, 2 and 3 km radius, respectively, Fig. 2. Consequently, reduction of the odour emissions in connection with spreading manure is a very important measure. In this respect, incorporation of the manure into the soil is a good solution.

Permanent population Farmers Week-end

non-farmer

population

0-1 km

l-2km

2-3 km

Fig. 1. Percentage of population who were considerably annoyed by malodour from manure spreading.

^ Permanent population Farmers ^ Week-end

non-farmer

population

0-1 km

I-2 km

2-3km

Fig. 2. Percentage of population who were considerably annoyed by malodour from pig barns. 2. ODOUR REDUCTION Comprehensive studies of this technique have been made at JTI and KI. In one of these studies comparisons were carried out between different spreading and burial methods for pig manure. The odour determinations were made in a mobile laboratory especially constructed for sensory measurements of air pollutants (1). The laboratory mainly consists of an airconditioned

209
test-room with three exposure hoods. Fig. 3 shows a general outline of the mobile laboratory with the sampling equipment.

Fig. 3. General outline of the mobile odour laboratory. 1 Air conditioning and cleaning unit. 2 Waiting room. 3 Test chamber with exposure hoods. 4 Laboratory for gas dilution, chemical analyses and experimental control. 5 Air intake hood. 6 Fans. 7 Field. In table 1 some results from this study (2) of odour reduction are presented. The thresholds are mean values expressed as log dilution factors. Standard deviations are calculated on the averages of doubled ED-50 values, each value based on the reports of six observers at a time. As can be seen, incorporation of the manure largely reduced the emission of odour from the field. This mainly concerns the injection techniques, which in some cases reduced the odour to the background level. Conventional tillage implements such as a plow or a disc harrow also reduced the odour emission considerably. The effect of immediate injection in comparison with conventional surface spreading was also studied in large-scale field experiments. One objective was to study the dependence of the odour strength on the distance from the manured field and on the length of time that had elapsed since the spreading took place. The strength of the odour was estimated by a number of outdoor observers, who compared the odour with a standard reference of pyridine, and by observers sitting in the KI's mobile laboratory who measured the odour in the ambient air. The observers made the determinations at distances ranging from 50 to 400 metres downwind of the manured field. Fig. 4.

210
Table 1. Odour threshold values for untreated swine manure spread and buried in different ways. Odour threshold ED-50 (from Lindvall, T. et al. 1972) Fallow in spring Surface spread Buried with plow harrow disc harrow injector Unmanured soil surface 1.50 0.40 1.71 0.56 3.45 0.23 Fallow in autumn 3.45 0.40 Grassland in autumn 3.75 0.61

2.30 0.40 2.12 0.33

2.97 0.33 1.94 0.39 2.04 0.79

2.73 i 0.76 2.36 i 0.69

Mobile olfactometer

Wind

direktion

Manured area

Fig. 4. Layout of field experiments with observers determining the odour intensity on different distances from the manured field.

The results are given in Fig. 5 a-b. Diagram a gives the strength of the odour emanating from the spreading alternatives as a function of the time at the observation points 100 m to the leeward of the manured areas. The percentage value gives the odour strength as experienced by the observers in relation to the referent. According to the diagram, after surface spreading the odour in the ambient air was considerably stronger than after the injection method had been used; initially there was a five-fold difference. The odour following the injection of manure held a fairly constant level, but the odour following surface spreading decreased sharply after about one hour. Towards the end of the 2-hour observation period, the gap between the odours from the two methods had decreased but a certain difference still remained. Diagram b gives the odour expressed as a function of the distance from the manured area. It can be seen that there was a considerable difference between the two methods. At 100 m the surface spreading resulted in (on average) about a 10 times stronger odour than when the slurry was injected. After slurry injection the level stabilised at 200 m, while with surface

211 40
o Sur face sprea ding So/l injet ztion Perceived odour intensity. %

.30

v- TT 7*

/s

.c

tli

b
o

20

^. \

\
\

\
O

\
\

I 10

40 80 Time. min.

120

200 Distance, m

400

Fig. 5. a. Perceived odour intensity as a function of time for two spreading alternatives; subsurface injection and spreading on the surface, b. Perceived odour intensity as a function of distance for two spreading alternatives; subsurface injection and spreading on the surface. spreading the odour at 400 m was 5-10 times stronger than after injection at the same distance. The odour at 200 m after injection was down to the level where it could not be distinguished from other background odours. Consequently it is clear that burial of the manure effectively reduces the odour. 3. UTILIZATION OF NITROGEN On farms where a large proportion of the area consists of long duration leys it may be essential to utilize some of this area as a place upon which slurry can be spread (3). As the spreading of slurry on leys or pastures in the conventional way is not suitable from feed hygiene aspects, the spreading of slurry by means of injection would be a way of utilizing these areas. Increased interest has been shown with regard to the plant nutrient content of slurry, and experiments both in Sweden and elsewhere have demonstrated that a better utilization of the manure's nitrogen effect is obtained if the slurry is incorporated than if spread conventionally. Finnish experiments demonstrate that incorporation gives very high yield increases, particularly under dry conditions. Comparisons in trials between incorporation and surface spreading of the same amounts of slurry have resulted in almost 1000 kg higher grain yield per hectare or a 30-45 % yield increase after incorporation. Experiments with incorporation of slurry in leys have also given good results and particularly as regards the effect of the slurry in the following year. An important effect of incorporation on

212
leys is, in addition, that the risk of deteriorated seed quality is considerably less than if the slurry is spread on the surface. Swedish experiments have resulted in yield increases in grain of 5-1OZ when the slurry was incorporated instead of being spread on the surface. 4. SPREADING CAPACITY Time studies were conducted at JTI during the spreading of slurry both using an injector and when spread conventionally. When using the injector there is a strong reduction in the effective working width and in general it is not practically possible to increase the driving speed so much that the same discharge rate from the tanker can be retained. This implies that the time needed to unload a tanker equipped with an injector is about twice as long as if conventional spreading was used. However, the difference between the two methods should be calculated using the total time for filling, transport to the field, spreading, transport back from the field as well as any stationary periods, etc. In a time study made when the distance between the field and the manure pit was ca 800 m the total spreading capacity decreased by ca 10 % when the method was changed from conventional spreading to spreading using an injector.

REFERENCES (1) LINDVALL, T. 1970. On sensory evaluation of odorous air pollutant intensities. Nordisk Hygienisk Tidskrift, Supplementum 2:1-181, Stockholm. LINDVALL, T., NOREN, 0. & THYSELIUS, L. 1972. Luktreducerande atgarder vid flytgodselhantering. Specialmeddelande 22, Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Uppsala. NOREN, 0. & THYSELIUS, L. 1982. Battre effekter uppnas med myllning. Lantbruks-Nytt 1982 nr 4, Malmo.

(2) (3)

213

SEPARATION AS A METHOD OF MANURE HANDLING AND ODOURS REDUCTION IN PIG BUILDINGS Ing. W. Kroodsma Institute of Agricultural Engineering Mansholtlaan 10-12, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Summary This paper discusses the development and performance of a combined system for the separation and removal of dung and liquid in piggeries. The system separates the faeces and urine, directly after production, by a filter net situated under the slats. The filter net with the faeces is removed from the pens daily. If the pigs eat wet feod, without drinking nippels,about 35% of the total production of faeces and urine is separated as a solid.Together with some wasted straw from the lying area the faeces are stackable. The strawmanure has a high fertilizer value. The remaining liquid flows continuously to a pit outside the house and" is pumped in a silo. The fertilizer value is low. Daily removal of faeces and urine promotes as well a better house climate as a lower odour emission in comparison with piggeries with underslat slurry storage. Installing this filtersystem in partly slatted floor houses straw can be used to improve animal comfort, and to reduce heating costs. The investment for the filter net system, is related to the number of pigs and lay-out of the piggery. The investment in mechanial components can be partly offset by shallower, less expensive channels and by not installing a heating system.

1. INTRODUCTION Till about 1970 pigs were kept in houses with slatted floors. Straw was provided on the floor of the pens. The faeces together with wasted straw were removed out of the house daily and stacked and handled as farmyard manure. The liquid drained to a pit continuously. This manure handling system is replaced in the course of the years by the slurry system. This system is based on partly or totally slatted floors with underslat slurry storage. This manure handling system is labour saving and together with developments in technology and management the size of the

214
piggeries increased. In that time limits to farm size were seldom determined by farm waste disposal and air polution. At present there are local regions where is a surplus of slurry. Due to the low value as a fertilizer transport to other regions is too expensive and in some cases over manuring will exceed. Separation of slurry offers the possibility of obtaining solid manure with a high fertilizer value and a liquid with a low value. On this way it becomes more worthwhile to transport the solid manure over longer distances, so it reduces over manuring. However slurry separation with a high efficiency is costly about 4,-/pigplace by adding flocculants and expensive complicated separations (1). Underslat slurry storage also influences environnement as well inside as outside the piggery because gases are released from the slurry. On the other hand anaerobic digestion processes will be avoid by daily removal and separate storage of faeces and urine. That factors were for IMAG a motive to develop a reliable combined manure filter and removal system for piggeries. 2. SEPARATION EFFICIENCY In a preliminary investigation the separation efficiency of different separation techniques under slatted floors was defined. Separation efficiency means which part of the total components in faeces and urine remains in the faeces. This research was carried out in a pen with 8 pigs. The pigs were given wet feed without drinkwaterprovisions. In Fig.l the separation result is mentioned for a filter net of meshsize 0.78x0.78 mm. From Fig.l it is apparent that about 35% of the total faeces and urine is removed as a solid and that about 90% of the total dry matter is in the faeces. Also for a number of minerals, P?0,-, CaO, MgO and Cu, it amounts to more than 90%. Nitrogen and potassium were separated in smaller amounts, about 60% and 40% respectively, being retained in the solid. On basis of this result and after comparative research with concern for filtering, clogging and cleaning the above mentioned filternet is now being used for the final mechanized filter and removal system. 3. THE MECHANIZED FILTER INSTALLATION A combined filter and manure system must be completely reliable, since it is not easy to make repairs under the slats. After 2-3 years of experience a system which works well has been developed.(2,3,4) In Fig.2 a schematic diagram of the filter system is shown under the slatted floor. In the channel under the slats two angle sections (1) are attached one above the other and fixed over the whole length to both walls. These are covered from above with protective plates (2) Joined underneath the slats. The filter net (3) is provided with

Sj(%)

faeces

urine

y y y y
N-KJ
0

215

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

r~r

77

i--kg

y y y y ^ y 4 y '/, y y '/, 6 y y y
dm.

y y y y

V/

y y y y
c

crude ash

NH 4- P205 N

// y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y
K20 CaO MgO Cu

BOD5 COD

Fig.

1 : Separatio n efficiency size 0.78 x 0.78 mm.

(in faeces) f o r net o f mesh

:/ J^^s:.vis.fcg!^
'j=T

tw*

-I

Fig.

2 : Schematic diagram of the filter system 1 Angle section 2 Protective plates 3 Filter net with steel strips 4 Front roller 5 Driving unit 6 Wire cable 7 Transport belt 8 Brush roller

216

Fig. 3 : Plan of the piggery with the filter system ~ and outside storage of dung and liquid 1 - storage for farmyard manure and liquid 2 - dung gutter 3 - liquid gutter

Fig. 4 : Piggery with the filter | system. The straw manure is removed by belts to the manure spreader.

217
steel strips across the net at 1.0 m intervals and extending from the net on both sides. During the day both ends of the steel strips lie on the upper angle section. In this position the faeces, which have fallen through the slats remain on the net, while the urine is filtered through. During the mucking out process, the filter net is drawn at a speed of about 10 m/min over a roller (4) situated at the front of the pighouse. During mucking-out the strips slide from the upper angle section over the front roller to the bottom angle section. A brush roller (8) assists removal of the faeces from the filter net. The combination of the angle sections on the walls of the channel and the steel strips in the filter net ensure for a reliable mucking out. Two types of driving units (5) are being investigated. In the first two motors of 0.75 kW are placed at the back end of the pighouse and are joined to the net via a stainless steel wire (6) When switched on, one draws the net (3) over the front roller(4) back into the pen. During the operation the faeces fall from the net on to the transport belt (7) which carries the faeces outside. At the end the first motor switches off automatically and the second switches on and draws the filter net back to its original position. In the second case a 0.75 kW motor with a pre-set springloaded tension apparatus is installed. The stainless steel wire (6) is wound 4-5 times around a drum. When the motor is switched on, the wire tightens and the filter net (3) is drawn backwards and forwards over the front roller (4). Although the filter net has been cleaned by the brush roller during mucking-out some of the faeces block gradually the net by puddling and drying-out. For this reason the net has to be thoroughly cleaned periodically by a high-pressure hose while the net is drawn backwards and forwards. This turn-out depends on the consistency of the faeces and varies between 8-12 weeks. 4. LAY-OUT OF THE PIGGERY The experiments were done in an old stall for 160 pigs and partly slatted floors. Fig.3 shows the piggery which was renewed and adapted to the filtersystem. The faeces mixed with the wasted straw of the lying area were removed every day by a transport belt (2) in the dung gutter and stacked on top of the covered pit (1). The urine flows through the liquid gutter (3) into the underground storage pit (1). 5. RESULTS 5 .1. Composition_of_faeces_and_urine In Table 1 the average composition is recorded from two samples of faeces and urine for the net with a mesh size of 0.78x0.78 mm installed on the above mentioned piggery.

218
Table 1: Average composition of faeces and urine after separation by a filter net (0.78x0.78)
Faeces Dry matter Crude ash N-Kj NH.-N 4 25 K20 CaO MgO Cu pH
P

Urine 1.92 63.10 0.34 0.35 0.05 0.62 0.04 0.02 2.50 9.1

( % ) ( % ) of dry matter ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % )

32.50 25.70 1.24 0.34 1.64 0.85 1.45 0.48 197

ppm

From Table 1 it is evident that the percentages of the minerals in the faeces are high. In the urine the percentages are much lower except potassium. By manuring grassland potassium is the limiting factor, while an arable land the quantity of nitrogen needs to be taken into account. In applying solid manure to cropland the Cu-content needs to be taken into account. Depending on the Cu-status of the soil, 0-6 kg Cu/ha is advised. By fertilizing with 10 t/ha of solid manure about 3 kg Cu/ha is administered Because only a small amount of copper is taken up by plant growth and lost through drainage, the application of solid manure needs to be spread out over a few years if Cu is not to accumulate in the soil. 5.2 Odour emissions It can be concluded that separation and removal of urine and faeces from piggery result in a reduced formation of odour components (5). This might result in a decrease of the precieved odour as compared with a housing system with underslat slurry storage. In order to obtain a reliable figure for the actual odour reduction, measurements have been carried out. Samples of ventilation air from a pighouse with underslat slurry storage as well as a pighouse with filter nets were taken on a number of different occasions. All samples were collected in bags made from FEP-Teflon. Odour experiments were performed the following day using a dilution apparatus (olfactometer) and a group of observers (panel). Since the establishment of the odour intensity is a time consuming affair, it has become practice in Dutch agricultural odour research to concentrate on the establishment of the odour treshold (6). The odour treshold is defined as that dilution of odorous air which

219
cannot be distinguished from odourless air by 50% of the panel members (DT50). This implies that the threshold is a barely detectable odour. The number of times a sample has to be diluted to reach threshold levels is a measure for the relative strength of the odour. The relative odour strength times the ventilation rate of the building results in the odour emission. This can be regarded as the total odour load per unit of time leaving the building. Finally the odour emission can be used in atmospheric dispersion models in order to calculate the odour threshold distance. Table 2 shows the results of the experiments as well as the relevant data of the pighouses at the time of sampling. During the measurements the ventilation rate between the pighouses varied. The difference are due to different ventilation rates and due to sampling in the morning or in the afternoon at different ambient temperatures. Table 2: Odour measurements Pighouse with separation Data of sampling 24.5.83 31.5.83 14.9.83 28.10.83 Number of pigs 158 158 157 158 80 45 75 Average liveweight (kg2> _. 75 3 0.93 0.89 0.47 Ventilation rate (m kg h ) 0.61 Dilutions to threshold (DT50) 770 1008 817 1634 Total odour emission (DT50/h.l0 3 ) 5595 11902 5195 9103 Odour emission/pig (DT50/h) 35410 75326 32877 57980 Emission reduction/pig (%) 49 50 50 59 Pighouse with underslat slurry storage Data of sampling 24.5.83 31.5.83 14.9.83 28.10.83 Number of pigs 300 275 279 279 Average liveweight (kg}. _. 80 90 45 85 3 Ventilation rate (m kg h ) 0.21 0.54 0.52 0.57 Dilutions to threshold (DT50) 4133 3068 2820 2903 Total odour emission 3 (DT50/h.l0 ) 20632 41234 18409 39205 Odour emission/pig (DT50/h) 68773 149942 65982 140520 Emission reduction/pig (%) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.= not applicable It can be concluded from Table 2 that the installation of filter nets reduced the odour emission per pig by approximately 50%

220
6. ECONOMIC ASPECTS 6.1. Investment In Fig. 3 the lay-out of the piggery is mentioned. The stall is renewed and instead of the normal depth of 1.50 m by underslat slurry storage the channels have a depth of 0.50 m. These shallow channels are as a matter of course cheaper but on the other hand facilities for storage of dung and liquid must be build outside the building. In front of the stall a dung and liquid gutter has been build, where the transportbelts are installed. The investments for the filter system of this piggery are given in Table 3. Table 3: Survey of extra capital investment of the filter system, in comparison with the slurry system (/pigplace) Filter system in both channels Dung and liquid gutter Transportbelts Dung and liquid storage Estimated reduction by shallow channels Extra capital investment Extra capital investment/pigplace 3750 1250 2500 2500 10000 2500 7500 46.90

This price is relatively high on account of the small number of pigs. Other calculations show that the investment costs are lower in comparable stalls with a capacity for 480 and 960 pigs. These stalls are more common, the costs are respectively 18 and 11/pigplace. Calculations confirm also the expectations that stalls with long channels in longitudinal design are more favourable for this filter system than stalls with short channels in transverse style. 6.2. Annual_cqsts The costs depend first on the capital costs and secondly on the costs of straw. On the other hand savings are possible on building structures and heating system. Besides these factors other savings are possible because some disadvantages of the slurry system can be removed by the filter system; for example costs for fuelexpenditure and slurry disposal. A calculation for a standard plan for 480 and 960 pigs shows that in a comparable stall as in Fig. 3 the extra annual costs for the filter system are slightly higher than for the slurry system; respectively 1.11 and 0.08 /pigplace. The costs for stalls with transverse and short channels are much higher and vary between 3.70 - 3.40 /pigplace. Compared with the costs for slurry separation in a slurry disposal centre the costs for the filter system in stalls with long

221
channels are lower and the costs in stalls with short channels are nearly identical. REFERENCES (1) STUURGROEP Mestproblematiek, N.C.B. - Kostenramlng van mestscheiding in een centraal mestverwerkingsbedrijf (1981) (Calculations of slurry separation in a slurry disposal centre). (2) KROODSMA, W. (1980) - Separation of Pig Faeces from Urine using synthetic Netting under a slatted floor. The Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Livestock Wastes 1980, 419-422. Livestock Waste: A renewable resource. (3) KROODSMA, W. - Trennung von Fakalien und Harn in einem Schweinestall mit Spaltenboden (Separation of faeces and urine in a piggery with slatted floors). Bericht Uber die 7. Arbeitstagung "Fragen der Gullerei", 1981, III. Band, 761-771. (4) KROODSMA, W. and POELMA, H.R. - Mestscheiding (Separation of pig and cow slurry) IMAG-publikatie 209 (in preparation). (5) SPOELSTRA, S.F. - Microbial aspects of the formation of malodorous compounds in anaerobically stored piggery wastes. Proefschrift - Agricultural University Wageningen. (6) KLARENBEEK, J.V. - Odour measurements in Dutch agriculture: current results and techniques. R.R. 82-2 Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wageningen.

222
MEASUREMENTS OF THE OLFACTOMETRIC EFFICIENCY OF VARIOUS ODOUR CONTROL DEVICES IN RENDERING PLANT? G.-J. MEJER Institut fur landtechnische Grundlagenforschung der Bundesforschungsanstalt fur Landwirtschaft

Summary As the raw material of rendering plants produces very odoriferous substances, air cleaning systems are usual. Five such air cleaners in normal performance were measured olfactometrically. The olfactometric efficiency of biofilters proved to be better than that of chemical scrubbers. A large difference between the relative odour concentration in the cleaned air and asserted limit values, based on older olfactometric methods confirm the necessity of a standardisation of olfactometric measurement methods.

1. INTRODUaiON For epidemic prevention and public health, rendering plants are bound by law to accept all perished animals and parts of animals in any stage of decomposition. Due to the nature of this raw material, containing fat and protein, its biological decomposition increases with time and temperature of storage, and very odoriferous compounds are produced. As storing temperature and time outside the plant are often out of the influence of the plant management, at least in summertime the handling of this very odoriferous material is a normal procedure. In order to prevent an escape of the odoriferous compounds into the atmosphere, in modern plants all devices and all machinery are capsulated as close as possible and all odoriferous gases and all polluted air are collected and exhausted into an appropriate air cleaning system, where all odoriferous compounds should be removed and/or desintegrated to odourless substances, before the cleaned air is released into the open atmosphere. In former times, rendering plants, well known for their odour pollutions, were banished to a site far away from human housings, in order to prevent odour nuisance. But in our time, various groups insist that modern rendering plants can be run without odour nuisance of the neighbourhood So authorities allowed the settlement closer to the rendering plants, but complaints of the inhabitants in the vicinities became common. In the rendering plant guideline proposal VDI 2590E /2/, published in 1979, it was claimed as state of the art that the relative odour concentration in the cleaned exhaust air should be less than 100 odour units. It must be supposed that the data base of this limit value has been achieved by older measuring methods, different from that described in the guideline /3-5/. To prove the real efficiency of working air cleaning systems in the field and to prove our odour measurement method and device that agreed with the already partially outlined but not yet published guideline VDI 3881E

/V.

223
/3-5/, a series of olfactometric measurements in working rendering plants were carried out. Furthermore, the results should help to prevent misplaning and misinvestments due to misunderstanding odour limit values. 2. EXPERIMENTAL 2.1 RENDERING PLANTS AND AIR CLEANING SYSTEMS In Germany approximately 80 rendering plants, spread all over the land, process more than 800 000 t of raw material per year. Five plants in northern Germany were chosen with different size and different air cleaning systems, table 1. These chosen air cleaners are of the common types in rendering plants. The attempt to include also a bioscrubber and an activated carbon filter failed due to frequent breakdowns. All air cleaners worked already for several years and were operated in usual manner without any variations or make up especially for the measurements. These were carried out in a moderate weather period with ambient temperatures of 16-21 C. The samples were taken during normal continuous plant performance, that means with closed cooker. In addition, in plant A samples were taken in peak load performance, when the cooker was opened.
Plant raw material capacity distance to next housing air cleaning system

A
animals /parts

B
animals /parts

C
bones

D
animals /parts

E
blood

t/h m

5 900
counter current scrubber H 2 0,
H

12
1500 cross current scrubber H 2 0, H 2 S0 4 , NaOH, NaOCl 60000 1 imestone tower H 2 0. ci 2 , CaCO, 60000 biofilter

10 800
biofilter

reagents

22

carbage compost H20

carbage compost H20

air flow mean retention time working time

m 3 /h

40000

38000

37000

s
years

3,6 3

3 3

54 5

54 6

39
6 renewed 1

Table 1. Some data of the measured rendering plants and of the air cleaning systems. 2.2 ODOUR THRESHOLD DETERMINATION Although the guideline VDI 3881E/3-5/ was not yet published, it was, as mentioned already, partially outlined by the VDI working groups "Odoriferous Substances". As a member of this group, the method was applied as described in that guideline, with two slight differences.

224 In the vicinity of a rendering plant it is very difficult to find a really unpolluted place for the olfactometric measurements. Although the most unpolluted site luff of the plant was chosen, another precaution was taken. As adaption of the panelists to the plant odour could cause one of the greatest errors, some minutes before and during the measurement the panelists inhale solely odourless air from the olfactometer. To prevent discomfort by inhaling completely dry air, the olfactometer Modell 1158 is supplied with a moistening device, fig. 1.
-t*H Olfaktometer Model 1158

Fig. 1. Moistening device. In a standard impinger, filled with destillated water, air is moistened close to saturation. An equal flow of moistened air is mixed to the olfactometer outlet, thus delivering to the panelist a rel. moisture content of nearly 50 %. The panel consisted of 4 persons. The samples are prediluted taken into plastic bags, simultaneously at the inlet (raw air) and at the outlet (cleaned air) of the air cleaners. To receive an unfalsified sample from the outlet of the biofilters, undiluted by ambient air, a "tent" of plastic foil, fig. 2, is placed on the filter surface. The cleaned air blows up the tent and escapes through the sample hole, large enough to prevent a significant increase of pressure. The form of the upblown tent indicates, wether a sample area with normal air flow is chosen, and over the space of the covered filter area of 6,25 m2 an average sample is received.
sample hole

Fig. 2. Device for cleaned air samples from biofilter outlet.

225
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The olfactometer readings of the measurements are statistically treated as described in /3/. The results for the plants and air cleaning systems, described in table 1, are given in table 2.
system plant rel. odour concentration
Z

chemical

biological

A
raw air cleaned air 65200 48300 26 %

B
14200 7360

C
26800 29500

D
41400 7930 81 %

E
95100 5100

50 /odour units/

olfactometric efficiency n

48 *

-9%

95 *

Table 2. Results of measurements, obtained during normal performance, cooker closed. Taking the index R for raw air at the cleaner inlet and the index C for cleaned air at the cleaner outlet, the olfactometric efficiency of the cleaner is defined according to /6/: L 50R - Z, 50C 100 % 1. "-50R In the regarded air cleaning systems, the odoriferous pollutants are first seperated from the raw air by sorption and then decomposed by chemicals or by micro-organisms. As long as this decomposition is not yet completed, the pollutants may desorb and repollute the air, when sorption conditions, i.g. the raw gas concentration, change. By the relation of the difference in raw and cleaned gas concentration to the actual raw gas concentration, a negative efficiency may be calculated by equation 1, i.g. when a low raw air concentration is preceded by a high one. Table 3 shows peak concentrations and increasing olfactometric efficiency, when~"in plant A the cooker is opened.
rel. odour concentration ZJ-Q /odour units/ olfactometric efficiency n raw air cleaned air 627000 240800 62 %

Table 3. Results of measurements, obtained in peak load performance when cooker is opened. Although the number of measurements is too small for general assertions, some deductions can be drawn: The results confirm the superiority of the biofilters. And in fact, the number of biofilters in rendering plants increases. Concerning the rel. odour concentration in the cleaned air, a large difference is evident between the presented results and the assertion that a limit value of 100 odour units can be achieved. Two interpretations can be offered:

226
1. A rendering plant manager is overcharged by the correct maintenance and the correct control of a chemical scrubber according to the changing conditions of his plant. The pollution is blown into the sky and he has no reliable signal to survey cleaning efficiency. So he sets the chemicals dosage as recommended and trusts in the guarantee of the manufacturer of the cleaner. And as he has payed a lot of money for it, he is certain he has done his best. Biofilters adapt themselves, and due to the groundlevel outlet a failure is easier perceptable. 2. The limit value mentioned above and likewise guaranteed by manufacturers of air cleaners is based on measuring methods different from those applied here and described in the guidelines /3-5/. Results of measurements, achieved by different methods are not comparable. The large difference of the values is a distinct indication of differences in existing methods. 4. CONCLUSION The necessity of a harmonisation and standardisation of the complete method of olfactometric measurements is evident, in order to achieve comparable results. A basic requirement for the establishment of any odour limit value is that such a method is established and generally accepted, and that all measurement results on which an odour limit value is based are also achieved by exact this method. REFERENCES (1) QUELLMALZ, E., Tierkorperbeseitigung ohne Geruchsbel'a'stigung. VDIKolloquium "Minderung von Geruchsstoffemissionen", Wiesbaden, Mai 1981. (2) VDI 2590 Entwurf: Auswurfbegrenzung, Anlagen zur Tierkbrperbeseitingug. August 1979. (3) VDI 3881 Blatt 1 Entwurf: Olfaktometrische Technik der Geruchsschwellenbestimmung, Grundlagen, November 1983. (4) VDI 3881 Blatt 2 Entwurf: Probenahme fiir die Geruchsschwellenbestimmung mit dem Olfaktometer. (5) VDI 3881 3 Blatt Entwurf: Messen der Geruchsschwelle mit den Olfaktometern Model 1 1158 und T04. (6) VDI 3477: Bilogische Abluftreinigung. Biofilter, Dec. 1984. Special thanks to the owners and managers of the plants for the spantaneous permission to carry out the measurements, and likewise to Mr. E. GARRELTS for his competent counsel and and angagement in this work.

227
THE EFFECTS OF WEATHER ON ODOUR DISPERSION FROM LIVESTOCK BUILDINGS AND FROM FIELDS M.L. WILLIAMS Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK and N. THOMPSON Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK

Summary A brief outline of the application of dispersion modelling to the estimation of odour nuisance is given. This is followed by some approximate methods of estimating concentrations arising downwind of buildings and fields. These methods are intended to provide best estimates of concentrations and nuisance arising from odorous compounds rather than to provide a rigorous discussion of the fluid mechanics Involved. By comparison with empirical formulae relating distance of complaint to odour emission obtained from a large number of experimental studies, the dispersion modelling approach is shown to provide reasonably accurate results.

INTRODUCTION The prediction of the effects of meteorology on odour dispersion even in the absence of buildings or fields is a complex problem, chiefly because of the very short tlmescales over which odorous compounds interact with the human sensory system. This has the consequence that convenient averaging over many realisations of turbulent events in the atmosphere, smoothing out short period fluctuations to give averages over periods of say ~10 minutes of the various parameters affecting the dispersion of the pollutant is not appropriate. This averaging process, which is used in dealing with the prediction of the dispersion of other air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, is a convenient means of reducing the error in estimated concentrations. Assuming for example that a single source emission rate is known exactly, it is relatively straightforward using standard dispersion models to predict an annual average concentration at a downwind location to within an accuracy of say 2530Z, while the likely error in predicting a 1 hour average concentration would be of the order of a factor of 2 to 3. Odorous stimuli act typically over tlmescales of the order of seconds, so that the errors in concentrations calculated using dispersion models can be very large, unless some form of empirical parameterisation is used. This will be discussed below. An illustration of the difference between an "instantaneous" plume profile typical of an odour-related situation and an averaged profile is given in Figure 1. The instantaneous profile arises from the stochastic turbulence processes and consequently is very difficult to predict ab initio. The averaged plume profile however is less subject to error and experimental and/or theoretical data can be used to describe the horizontal and vertical plume dimensions (OL and o )

1.

228
for given meteorological conditions (1). In such cases, standard Gaussian dispersion equations such as equation (1) can be used to estimate downwind ground level concentrations, C, appropriate to the averaging times used to determine a- (and to a lesser extent o z ) : C ^-exp ita2ay U (-0.5 (y/ttj2) exp (-0.5
y

(H/a.)2) z

(1)

where Q is the mass emission rate (g s - 1 ) , U is the wind speed (m 8 - ' ) , H is the effective emission height (m) and y is the crosswind distance from the plume centre line to the point at which C is evaluated. Such equations can be suitably averaged to calculate long-term (annual average concentrations) or can be applied to a long-term series of meteorological conditions to investigate the frequency of exceedence of a particular concentration, as a function of time of year, wind speed and direction. An example of such an exercise is shown in Figure 2 where the frequency of exceedence of fractions of the maximum axial concentration is shown as a function of wind direction for a site in Exeter. ODOUR DISPERSION This subject has been treated previously in references 1 and 2 to which the reader is referred for a fuller description of the basic principles. In dealing with the problem of odour dispersion it is convenient to re-define terms in the basic equation (1). The "odour emission" E equivalent to a mass emission rate Q (g s - 1 ) is defined as: E - DF (m3 s - 1 ) where F is the gas volume flow rate of the emission and D is the number of dilutions to detection threshold. E is thus equivalent to Q/Cg where Q is the mass emission rate of the odorous pollutant (g s _ 1 ) and C 0 is the detection threshold concentration (g m - 3 ) . If we consider downwind ground level concentrations on the plume centreline (y - 0) for a ground level source (H - 0) equation (1) becomes: 2.

tOyC

(2)

For an elevated source

2C n DF ,o-_,

- " 7^ <$

(3)

Using equations ( 1 ) , (2) or (3) with values of c ( ^ and oz obtained from the literature would in general give underpredictions of short period (~secs) odour related concentrations since most averaging times of a and oz reported In the literature are at the least ~3-10 minutes (3). (The CL, values quoted by Smith and Hay (4) are an exception and refer to effectively instantaneous values.) If C represents the instantaneous or peak concentration then the underprediction can be written: C = RC Similarly, complaints do not arise when the odour is just detected, but at the recognition or annoyance threshold which is larger than the detection

229
FIG.1 INSTANTANEOUS AND AVERAGE CONCENTRATION PROFILES

Instantaneous Top View of Plume Y

Instantaneous Concentration Profile at X=x Y

1 Hour Average Concentration Profile at X=x0

<?

SOURCE

x MEAN WIND>

-s-C FIG. 2 ODOUR CONCENTRATION FREQUENCIES (AS % WITHIN EACH 10 WIND SECTOR)

(al Id)

ALL CONCENTRATION , (b) C>C0/2,

C>C0/16,

(c)

C>C0/4,
116845]

| C 0 = MAX. AXIAL ODOUR STRENGTH I

230
threshold by a factor S. Hence from (2) concentrations at which nuisance or complaints are likely to occur is given by

C - -)
S

tQyOjj U

(4)

As a working rule of thumb, WSL has used values of R ~ 10 and S ~ 5 as broadly adequate, accepting that the prediction of short term peaks is necessarily inaccurate, and that some central estimate of practical use is required. A discussion of short period turbulent fluctuations has been given by Hanna (5). EFFECTS OF LIVESTOCK BUILDINGS ON DISPERSION In broad terms it is reasonable to assume that any plumes escaping from livestock buildings either through chimneys or adventitiously through cracks, windows, etc will be entrained in the building wake. Exceptions would be those cases where the chimney height was >2.5 times the building height or where the efflux velocity was ^4 times the wind speed. The effects of the building can be investigated in the near- and far-field, and a discussion has been given in reference (6). FAR-FIELD This would be defined typically as a distance greater than -10-15 building heights downwind. In such cases it is a reasonable approximation to assume that the effect of the building is to give what would otherwise be represented by a point source an initial non-zero size represented by plume widths a and a, such that o* ~ H/3 and < ~ W/3 where H and W are the height and width of the building respectively. One can then define a "virtual s o u r c e " a distance x upwind of the building and using in equation (2) new plume widths a' such that z ( x ) " y (x
+ x

3.

3.1

vz)

where o z (o) H/3 and with a similar expression for CL. NEAR-FIELD Flows within the wake region of buildings are extremely complex and generally applicable equations are difficult to derive. In practice, the estimation of near-field concentrations in complex flows around buildings is best undertaken in a wind tunnel. However this may not be possible in many situations and relatively simple numerical estimates may be required. The following discussion outlines a procedure which is necessarily very approximate but which could be used as an initial screening estimate for concentrations which should be accurate to about a factor of 3. For buildings whose width W is large compared with their height H, i.e. with W/H = 4-6, which would include most livestock buildings the flow in the wake is approximately two-dimensional. That is, at any point downwind of the building in the wake region, the flow is broadly the same, see Figure 3. In such a case, the concentration C in the wake region is given approximately by C K Q -^ U H2 (5) 3.2

where K is a constant = 2-3, Q is the mass emission rate and U the wind speed. For peak (~1 sec) concentrations for odour nuisance to occur,

231
,R, K Q S U H2

(6)

where a value of R of ~2-5 may be more appropriate than the value of 10 quoted In the non-wake calculation In Section 2 above. For buildings of a smaller aspect ratio, in the absence of a more reliable formula, equations (5) and (6) could be used, with a likely accuracy of about a factor of three. DISPERSION FROM FIELDS In the same way that in the far-field the effect of a building was considered to spread out what was otherwise a point emission, so a field may also be considered as a source of extended dimensions, crosswind and upwind, and may be treated mathematically in a similar manner to that described in Section 3.1. If W is the width of the field then we can again use equation (2) in the same way as described in Section 3.1 with a value of o at x - 0 (the field downwind edge) given approximately by ~W/3, and with the analogous upwind virtual source calculation. A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE APPLICATION OF DISPERSION FORMULAE TO ODOUR PROBLEMS Warren Spring Laboratory has measured the odour emissions from a considerable number of processes and sources and collating the emissions with data on the spatial extent of odour complaints, has derived empirical formulae relating the distance d m a x from the source within which complaints are likely to the odour emission E as follows (1):
d

4.

5.

max " (2.2E) 0 - 6

6 0,6

(7)

with an estimated range of uncertainty of (0.7E)* -(7E) . Similarly an empirically derived chimney height H e required for adequate dispersal of an odorous emission E is given by He - (0.1E)0,5 Some examples of odour emissions are shown in Table 1. TABLE I. ODOUR EMISSIONS FROM UNABATED PROCESSES Odour Strength, Volume Flowrate (m3 s"1)

Process Chicken House Pig Pens Maggot Farm Printing (Web Offset) Fermenter Sterilising Flshmeal (White Fish) 80Z Oily Fish

Odour Emission (m3 s-1) 2,520 30,000 60,000 536,000 1.19xl06 3.16xl06

4-600 5,000 40,000 715,000 150,000 400,000

600

4.2

6 1.5
0.75

7.9 7.9

(From this it can be seen that compared with some processes, odour emission rates from livestock buildings are likely in general to be low.) The equation (4) can be rearranged to yield a theoretical analogue of

232
FIG. 3 2 - 0 FLOW AROUND A CUBICAL BUILDING

IS T Y P I C A L L Y

10-15

Hb ||6B46|

FIG.I

WSL EMPIRICAL FORMULA [71 vs CALCULATIONS FOR B.D AND F STABILITY USING EQUATION <M

O a O

B STABILITY D STABILITY F STABILITY

10,000 |l647|

233
(7) since a and a are, for given meteorological conditions, simply functions of the downwind distance x. Rearranging (4) then gives, for distances less than which complaints might be expected ,R, DF

vz < H
z

<8>

' S itU Using literature values of a and a z for three typical atmospheric stabilities (Pasquill classes B, D and F or unstable/convective, neutral and stable conditions) and typical wind speeds of 2, 5, and 2 m s - 1 respectively the points shown in Figure 4 can be calculated. The values of R " 10 and S 5 were used. The lines in Figure 4 are equation (7) with the range of uncertainties plotted. The points for B and D stabilities fall within the empirical envelope suggesting that the dispersion formulae are reasonably adequate in such situations. H owever in the stable F conditions, for a given odour emission the distance of complaints is markedly overpredicted. This suggests that in such conditions the peak/mean ratio R is probably much lower than the value 10 used in the analysis. This is not unreasonabe since in such atmospheric conditions, turbulence is considerably damped and one would qualitatively at least expect the turbulent fluctuations to be small, leading to smaller values of instantaneous to time averaged (~3-10 minute) concentrations. Indeed, the Figure suggests that a value of R ~ 1-2 is more reasonable in F conditions. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the work of many colleagues at WSL involved in odour assessment and in dispersion modelling, in particular to Dr R.L. Moss, Messrs D. Pope and H .R. Gibbens and to Dr A.W.C. Keddie and Dr D.J. Hall. REFERENCES (1) (2) (3) Odour Control - A Concise Guide, eds F.H .H . Valentin and A.A. North, Stevenage: Warren Spring Laboratory, 1980. KEDDIE, A.W.C. Prediction of Odour Nuisance, Chemistry and Industry, pp 323-326, May 1984. TURNER, D.B. Workbook of Atmospheric Dispersion Estimates, Public Health Service Publication No. 999-AP-26, Washington: US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare, 1969. SMITH , F.B. and H AY, J.S. The expansion of clusters of particles in the atmosphere, Quart. J. Royal Met. S o c , 87^, 82-101, 1961. H ANNA, S.R. The exponential probability density function and concentration fluctuations in smoke plumes, Boundary Layer Met., 29, 361-375, 1984. Models to Allow for the Effects of Coastal Sites, Plume Rise, and Buildings on Dispersion of Radionuclides and Guidance on the Value of Deposition Velocity and Washout Coefficients, Fifth Report of a Working Group on Atmospheric Dispersion, National Radiological Protection Board, NRPB-R157, 1983.

(4) (5)

(6)

234
DESIGN AND USE OF BIOFILTERS FOR LIVESTOCK BUILDINGS OLLE NOREN Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering

Summary The ventilated air from livestock buildings comprises a potential source of complaints from people living in the vicinity. In order to avoid the complaints it may be necessary to reduce the odour in the ventilated air. This may be achieved using biofilters. Very comprehensive development and evaluation of such filters have been made by Zeisig (2, 3 ) . The ventilation air from the barn is extracted by fans which blow the air into a duct. From this duct the air is released beneath a slatted floor upon which a ca 50 cm thick layer of peat has' been placed. During the passage of the air through the layer of peat the odours are absorbed and converted by microorganisms to odourless substances. The filter material should consist of peat mixed with heather in order to keep the air resistance low. If the peat filter is to give maximum odour reduction the peat must be moist. Investigation concerning the effect of biofilters (4) showed that the concentrations of gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulphide decreased by an average 50 %. At an optimum level the reduction was 80 %. The investment cost for a biofilter was about 100 DM per pig in South Germany. As regards a Swedish filter the investment cost was ca 50 DM per pig.

1.

INTRODUCTION

The ventilated air from livestock buildings comprises a potential source of complaints from people living in the vicinity. Many complaints about annoying odours occur in built-up areas where the distance between livestock buildings and dwelling-houses is not or cannot be sufficiently large. Emission of odours in the ventilated air from a livestock building is frequently very large. In an investigation conducted by the Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering (Jordbrukstekniska Institutet, JTI) and the Environmental Hygiene Dept., Karolinska Institute (KI) and the Swedish Environment Protection Board (1) it was found, e.g., that the odour threshold was about 10^. in two pig barns, each with ca 550 pigs. In one barn the manure system consisted of scrapes and in the other of a sluice gate system. The odour emissions, i.e., the product of odour strength and air flow, are all in the magnitude 10^ m^ per hour which implies that if the odours are diluted down to an odourlesB level the flow will be ca 100 million m 3 /h.

235
In order to avoid the complaints it may be necessary to reduce the odour in the ventilated air as much as possible. This may be achieved using biofilters. Cleaning of discharged air is commonly used in industry and the principles used are therefore wellknown. The differences between applica tion in industry and in agriculture are, however, very large. In industrial processes the air volume is usually relatively small and the concentration of odour substances large. As regards livestock buildings, there are large volumes of ventilated air but with a comparatively low concentration of odours in comparison with industry. Consequently, comprehensive work has been done with regard to developing biofilters suitable for livestock buildings. The use of peat filters for reducing odours has been known for many years. Very comprehensive development and evaluations of peat filters have been made by Zeisig (2, 3 ) . At present there are many filters being used in South Germany, a few in Holland and one in Sweden. My account will now mainly be based on experiences made by Zeisig but will be supplemented with our own experiences from the peat filter plant built in Sweden. 2. MODE OF OPERATION OF A BIOF ILTER Figure I illustrates the construction and mode of operation of a bio filter. The ventilation air from the barn is extracted by fans which blow the air into a duct. From this duct the air is released beneath a slatted floor upon which a ca 50 cm thick layer of peat has been placed. During the passage of the air through the layer of peat the odours are adsorbed and converted by microorganisms to odourless substances.

Dust filter Peat mixed with heather

;-.V.-". \^t! VJ-jvCi*-*t:":>,> : " ii'ii-:''* .'.' I ' >

syivUv - --

331

'ML ~ML
-~^-~ Q J -..

Fig.1.Principle of biofilter for odour reduction in the ventilation air according to Zeisig, H.D. et al 1982. In order to keep the operating costs as low as possible the filter is dimensioned in such a way that the air resistance will be low. Naturally, the flow resistance is highly dependent on the filter material and the air speed through the filter. According to Zeisig, the filter area should be 25 m^ per 100 pigs. The filter material should consist of peat mixed with heather. A suitable mixture is considered to be ca 50 % peat and 50 X heather calculated by volume. The flow resistance should then be below 15 mm water column. However, the fan should be capable of giving maximum air volume at 15 mm water column static pressure. The slatted floor should be made of wooden slats. The spacing between two slats should be 30 mm. Large quantities of dust accompany the ventila tion air and thus dust filters should be placed in the main duct in order

236
to prevent the dust from becoming deposited in the slatted floor and in the peat, thereby gradually clogging the filter. The dust filters are cleaned at intervals by being shaken. Zeisig considers suitable dust filter material to be Enkamort Type 7020. If the peat filter is to give maximum odour reduction the peat must be moist. Consequently, watering equipment of one kind or another must be available. 3. EXAMPLES OF A BIOFILTER-PLANT The Swedish farm where the biofilter has been built has a barn for 700 pigs. It is divided into two sections by a longitudinal wall. The filter has been placed as far away as possible from existing dwellinghouses. As is illustrated by Fig. 2, this implies that the ventilated air is discharged at one end of the building, where a fan room containing 6 ventilation fans has been built. The ventilated air is then blown through a main duct to the filter. This consists of a slatted floor on both sides of the main duct. In order to prevent condensation and possibly formation of ice in the main duct during the winter, it has been insulated with 10 cm Frigolit.

;";^fg2j
SSK^- 83**^ -

-^
~"S '

"^ J ^ '

4/7?

Fig. 2. View of biofilter plant in Sweden for 700 pigs. Fig. 3 illustrates in detail how the filter has been constructed. The filter is placed on a floor of merolit. The slatted floor is built of 32 x 50 mm slats. The distance between two adjacent slats is 30 cm and the slatted floor is at a height of 30 cm above the merolit floor. Before filling the filter with the peat-heather mixture, measurements of flow resistance were made with two different mixtures. The first mixture consisted of 5.5 % by weight of heather and 94.5 % by weight of peat with moisture contents of 54 and 82 Z respectively. With a filter depth of 50 cm the flow resistance was 18 mm water column. The other mixture consisted of 10.4 % by weight of heather and 89.6 Z by weight of peat, the flow resistance here being 9 mm water column at a filter depth of 50 cm. The filter was then filled with a mixture containing a slightly higher proportion of heather than in test 2.

Corrugated plate

Dust filter

Slatted

floor

wdmmSn
30mm

Peat ' heather reat.nearner

ii

ii

500 mm 300 mm

Merolit

floor

Fig. 3. Cross-section of biofilter according to Fig. 2. 4. EFFECT OF BIOFILTERS The effect of biofilters has been studied by Kowalewsky (4). In these studies he used both "DrSgerrr" as well as photometric and gas chromatographic measurements to study the reduction of certain odours such as ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. The measurements showed that the concentration of the gases studied decreased by, on average, 50 %. When the moisture content of the filter was at an optimum level the reduction was 80 X. The Swedish filter has not yet been evaluated with regard to odour reduction. The filter was completed during December 1984 and the exceptionally cold winter has delayed the evaluation. However, measurements of odour thresholds will be made during both winter and summer conditions. 5. COSTS The investment costs for a biofilter in Germany with 160 pigs were about 100 DM per pig (4). The operating cost, i.e., electricity, maintenance and repairs, is reported to be 3 DM per marketed pig. As regards the Swedish filter, the investments amount to slightly more than 60 DM per pig but details of operational costs are not yet available. REFERENCES (1) (2) Grennfelt, P., Lindvall, T., Noren, 0. Rosen, G. and Thyselius, L., 1975. Luktutslpp och luktspridning frin svinstallar. JTI-rapport 13. Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Uppsala. Zeisig, H.D., Kreitmeier, J. and Franzspeck, J., 1977. Untersuchungen iiber Erdfilter zur Verringerung der Geruchsbeiastigung aus Tierhaltungen. Schriftenreihe der Landtechnik, Weihenstephan, FreisingWeihenstephan. Zeisig, H.D. und Kreitmeier, J. 1982. Erdfilteranlagen - Ban- und Betriebsanleitung - Erganzungsblatter: Stand Dezember 1982. Bayerisches Staatsministerium fur Landesentwicklung und Umweltfragen. Weihenstephan. Kowalewsky, H-H. 1981. Verminderung von Geruchsemissionen durch Erdfilter. Landtechnik 1. Januar 1981.

(3)

(4)

238

EXPERIENCE IN THE USE OF BIOFILTERS M.A. van GEELEN Institute of Agricultural Engineering, M A G Wageningen, The Netherlands

After the meeting of the FAO European network on Animal Waste Utilization, april 1983 in Budapest, Hungary, where I described a biobed near a rendering plant, we have till now not succeeded to install a biobed near an intensive livestock stall. Although we have in design a biobed near a pig fattening stall and a veal calf stall. He had a pilot biobed near a veal calf stall to define the odour reduction with help of a vibrous peat filter. The odour reduction is measured by olfactometry. We defined the following figures for the reduction: sampling date 8/5/84 16/5/84 airrate m3/ m 2/h 390 300 filling height (m) 0,5 0,5 odourreading (DT) before 651 655 after 170 267 74 59 odourreduction (%)

I have after this figures the intension to install a biobed by a veal calf stall with an airrate of 300 m3/ m 2/h and 0,5 m high. When the reduction is not satisfying to put some vibrous peat-heather mixture on the top, to give a longer contact time. It is a pity that we have not taken the ammonia levels before and after as ammonia is important in conjunction with acid rain. Mr Kroodsma from IMAG developed a system to dry the manure under the cages in stalls for laying hens. After removing once a week, the manure is piled up in a storage. This rather dry manure (453! D.M.) is composting after piling and causes except odour also a not slight ammonia emission. For this two reasons we experimented with a biological airwasher and a pilot biobed by this manure storage to reduce ammonia and odour; in the first place ammonia for there has been damage to crops from this storage. We got the following odourreduction figures with the pilot biobed: sampling airrate filling odourreadings (DT) ammonia (Kjeldahl) mg/m^ date m3/m2/h height iction before after reduction (m) manure after storage biobed X Z 18/06/84 19/06/84 20/06/84 21/06/84

164 164 164 164

1,00 1,00 1,00 1,00

579
1728

871

1198

434 255 121 408

25 85 85 66

24,36 36,13 33,93 35,71

1,87 9,00 10,6 3,96

92 75 69 88

With the biological cross current airscrubber we got the following reduction figures:

239
sampling date airrate m3/ m 2/h odourreadings (DT) manure after reduction storage biobed Z 2278 2068 1950 2380 579 1729 871 1198 499 617 256 224 14 64 71 81 ammonia mg/m3 (Kjeldahl) before after reduction Z 24,36 36,13 33,93 35,71 22,53 11,57 11,99 11,57 7,5 67 64 58

18/06/84 19/06/84 20/06/84 21/06/84

In spring 1984 we designed a biobed for an insectnursery. The maggot breeder installed a biobed of 200 m3 for 15.000 m 3 /h ventilation air. The bed is 0,8 m high. On the top of the maggot production, in august 1984, we have taken samples from the air before and after the biobed. The dilution to threshold was before 3604 and after 232, reduction 94Z. The ammonia was before 5 ppm and after 0,3 ppm, reduction 94%, measured with Draeger tubes. The pressure drop over the biobed of the mixture of vibrous peat and heather was 5 mm WK. In the tube between the breeding house and the biobed there is a sackfilter installed to remove sawdust, that otherwise should clog the under layer of the bed. The same problem was with the biobed on the rendering plant. The bottom of the biobed, just above the slatted floor, was polluted by fatty material. The pressure drop over the biobed came lower after mixing the peat-heather material and installation of an airscrubber to remove solids and fatty parts.

AIR OUTLET INON POLLUTED! SAMPLMC PONT

VMHOUS PEAT JQ40M

VWflOUS PEAT

'rX

TTrvrmTiTiiTrmYnvrrvyr
A H CHAMBER

Fig. 1 : Pilot Biobed

240

_ AIR CHANNEL ( v . 6 M ' / s ) 15000 MYh

BAG FILTER

fcr

DIVING PUMP FOR WATER SPRINKLING FAN

..PLASTIC FLAPS

.VIBROUS PEAT/HEATER MIXTURE

SLOPE 2 % LGRID AIR CHAMBER

Fig. 2 : Design biobed for a maggot farm

241
DESIGN AND EXPERIENCE OBTAINED WITH BIOSCRUBBERS Stephan Schirz Kuratorium fiir Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL) Fed. Rep. of Germany, 6100 Darmstadt 12, BartningstraBe 49 Summary All odourants susceptible of being scrubbed and converted biologically can be treated with bioscrubbers. There are two different treatment techniques: - Scrubber water is onoculated with activated sludge, i.e. special microorganisms; - on large-surface scrubbers the so-called "biological mat" develops. In both techniques the mocroorganisms change the odour characteristics of the emitted waste air to such an extent that odour nuisance will no longer occour in the more or less distant vicinity. Bioscrubbers working on the principle of the activated sludge technique involve high input in design and control. Therefore it is only the more simple designed percolator scrubber that has been used for the cases of application referred to in this paper. Countercurrent or crosscurrent scrubbers the construction of which conforms exclusively to the case of application are shown by the aid of different examples. The principle of scrubbing noxiuous or odour-intensive substances of the process waste air has been applied in industry for many years. It refers to relatively large devices in which the air is scrubbed. After that the scrubbed substances are generally neutralized by chemicals. In the area of agriculture and food industry as well as the public sewage plants there are increasingly problems because of odour nuisance in the neighbourhood. The substances emitted from the different processes are seldom noxious. They are many individual components of very low concentration which together result in a specific odourous mixture. And this is felt to be penetrating and intolerable. This refers in particular to odours from - rendering plants - casings and glue boiling - slaughterhouses, particularly from blood storage tanks, bristles disposal - dung and calf stomach drying plants - public sewage plants - feed milling and mixing plants - starch drying plants - malt-houses and brewery - pig and chicken management.

242
All these processes develop organic compounds which are easily Since they all are also susceptible of biological degradation, suggested itself to construct sewage plants occupying a minute biological scrubbers. These are described in the VDI guideline gical Waste Air Purification - Bioscrubbers". I would like to describe two typical designs as follows: 1. Two-stage bioscrubber for rendering .plants (Fig. 1.) The waste gas, charged with odour-intensive substances (room waste air and process waste air) is purified in a two-stage counter-flow scrubber (1). The scrubbing fluid for the first stage is weakly acidic (A) and for the second stage, weakly alkaline (B). Both scrubbing fluids contain activated sludge which is adapted to the medium concerned. This refers to the activated sludge technique. The odourous substances scrubbed out of the air are used by aerobic microorganisms as a substrate and are thus removed from the water. These micro-organisms, floating freely in the water, form the activated sludge together with indissolved pollutant substances. As not all microorganisms are able to degrade certain atmospheric pollutants, a natural selection process takes place in the scrubbing process. A certain period of adaptation is necessary in this respect. Essential changes in the composition of the crude gas may require another adaptation. It is possible to check the activity of these micro-organisms by determining their oxygen consumption (respiratory activity). As the reaction speed of the biological degradation process is relatively low, correspondingly large acivated sludge tanks must be provided (2). These tanks must be aerated if they are large or if the installation is shut down for a protracted length of time. The activated sludge tanks (2) are fed by the acidic tank (4) and the alkaline tank (5). In order to replace evaporation losses and also to prevent salt formation in the scrubbing fluid, a small quantity of fresh water runs continuously into the tank (7). Small quantities of fluid are continuously removed from the two scrubbing stages and then clarified in sedimentation tanks (8). The resultant activated sludge is recirculated to the scrubber. As the waste gas contains phosphate only in traces, a small quantity of phosphate is continuously added to the scrubbing fluids (6). When production stops, the waste gas only contains very small quantities of organic compounds. In order to keep the two biocenosis stages active, vapours are pumped from the vapour condensate tank into the tank as a nutrient solution during these periods (3). The photograph (Fig. 2) shows the way the scrubber is installed in the building of the rendering plant. It is a very large scrubber with a ventilation capacity of 40 000 m 3 /h. The effluent scrubbing water is so clean that it can be led into a trout pool. watersoluble. the idea space, i.e. 3478 "Biolo-

243

9s

\<L

VH

IT-'
-*-a

--(
*i

Is
Fig.

1 : Two-stage bioscrubbe r for re nde ring plants

'

lym

Fig. 2 : Bioscrubber in a rendering plant

244 2. One-stage bioscrubber for piggeries (Fig. 3) The waste gas and scrubbing liquid can be put into contact according to the counter-flow or cross-flow principle. A counter-flow scrubber, as indicated in Fig. 3, is a standardised, compact unit for the purification of certain quantities of waste air which are adapted to the animal numbers and weithts in the pen, in accordance with DIN 18910. The total weight of these scrubbers is relatively small so that they can be suspended from the wall or ceiling of the pen without taking up valuable box space. Consequently, they are suitable for installation at a later date. The central element is a packed section which is provided with different types of fill and is also differently dimensioned according to requirements (degrees of efficiency required). A water cellecting trough, with a capacity of approximately 300 1, is located below the packed section. The pump sump with the circulating pump and the water overflow and supply are also located there. The pen air is drawn uniformly between packed section and water trough. This one-stage scrubber worked on the principle of the percolating filter technique. If the micro-organisms have permenently colonised the internals or packing of the scrubber, then this is referred to as a biological mat. The scrubbing water (absorbent) flowing across this mat supplies the microorganisms with oxygen and substrate. The scrubbing water is then regenerated. Percolating filter installations consist of installations with a large specific surface over which the scrubbing water to be purified is distributed. The efficiency of the percolating filter depends on the size of the biological mat an is expressed in m2 area per m3 of installation volume. Uniform wetting avoid dry areas connection with but not for the of the installation is particularly important in order to and clogging. The wetting rate only plays a part in the transfer of odourous substances to the scrubbing water biological degradation process.

After commissioning, a lead-in period of 1 to 2 weeks is required before the biological mat has formed in the packing. The scrubber must not be allowed to run dry, i.e. the water circulating system must continue to operate after the fans have been switched off. The photograph (Fig. 4) shows a scrubber in a piggery for 100 animals resp. 8 000 m 3 /h. It was installed subsequently.

245

PURIFIED

AIR

OU T PU T

i.w.JWl/'.

JlJUK

Fm>K/<j<j>.;<j

SCRUBBER

^?

-WATER

DIS T RIBU T ION

-FILLING -

MA T ERIAL

VENTILATION

VENT ILAT ION

WATER

COLLEC T OR

Fig. 3: One-stage bioscrubber for piggeries

Fig. 4: Bioscrubber for 100 fattening pigs, installed subsequently

246
The fan which must be designed in such a way that it can cope with the necessary air volume and also the pressure difference in the scrubber, is located in the lid of the scrubber. The water distributor which must be able to operate without restriction from skin, hair and such particles in the scrubbing liquid, is located at the lower edge of the lid. During operation, the pH-value of the scrubbing liquid must be checked with the aid of indicator paper, for example; it should be between 6.2 and 6.7. If this value increases, then either more water must be drained off and the supply of fresh water increased or special preparations such as phosphoric acids, mild, etc. must be added (Fig. 5 ) . This process can be automated by the aid of a measuring device. The scrubber design implies that the excess sludge be regularly removed from the packed section. This sludge settles in the lower zone and reduces the air throughput. For cleaning, the blocks of the packed tower are removed (Fig. 6 ) , flushed out or dried and knocked out. The cleaning must take place every 3 months and 2 to 3 hours. In both techniques the micro-organisms change the odour characteristics of the emitted waste air to such an extent that odour nuisance will no longer occur in the more or less distant vicinity. Bioscrubbers working on the principle of the activated sludge technique involve high input in design and control. Therefore it is only the more simply designed percolator scrubber that has been used for the practical examples of installation shown in the following. The photograph (Fig. 7) shows a bioscrubber adapted to the milling and mixing plant in a feedingstuff factory. The subsequent installation was particularly difficult. There was little room for the scrubber which could only be installed in the attic. In addition, the firm entered reservations against 500 1 of water in the scrubber and 1000 1 in a compensation tank above all dry products. The scrubber has a gas flow rate of 5000 m 3 /h and combines 3 air flows: - the waste air of the hammer mill in the cellar - the aspiration air of all the machines - the drying of the pelleted feed. The scrubber causes a low pressure in the building. Therefore, no odourladen waste air gets through any garret windows or windows. The purified air flow is directed to exhaust above the roof. Nowadays, public sewage plants are increasingly using sludge stabilization plants. It is about a thermic conditioning in two tanks and one tank as thickener. As the substrate is heated up to 80 C, evil-smelling gases, mainly ammonia in the range of 400 ppm to 600 ppm, will develop. The tanks are covered, but due to the gas pressure the odours to reach the vincinity.

247

Fig. 5: The feeding of the micro-organisms with phosphorus

Fig. 6: The cleaning of the packing blocks

248
The photograph (Fig. 8) shows a bioscrubber next to these tanks. The scrubber is a standard version as it is being used in piggeries. At the bottom, the water-collecting trough and water pump, on top of it the packing. The fan, in this case demensioned for 500 m 3 /h for each tank together 1500 m 3 /h, is located above the water distribution. The purified gas is drained off through a vertical chimney into the open. The gas from the tanks is collected in a drain which produces a low pressure. The packings consist of poles looking like large curlers (Fig. 9 ) . These poles are filled in drawers and are easy to remove and clean. The time of cleaning is indicated by a simple shuttle flap. If the packings are clean, a low pressure will prevail in the drain and the flap be down. If the packings are clogged, the flap gets up. An pointer fixed externally shows the direction of the flap. Another possibility to clean the waste gases of the tanks consists in placing a small scrubber with 500 m 3 /h on each tank (Fig. 10). This implement is compact and the air concentration is left out. As far as costs are concerned, there is no difference as all units, such as water pump, fan and control, must be provided for three times. There is not much to say about the costs of such implements as they are in each pracitical example individual constructions. In principle, it can be stated that for processes involving waste gases which do not have too strong odour concentration, the percolator scrubbers are the most favourable solution. They are small, compact, efficient and thus more economy-priced than the activated sludge scrubbers. References VDI 3478 Biologische Abluftreinigung - Biowascher (1985) Gust, M., F. Sporenberg u. E. Schippert: Grundlagen der biologischen Abluftreinigung. Teil IV Abgasreinigung durch Mikroorganismen mit Hilfe von Biowa'schern. Staub - Reinhaltung der Luft (1979), H. 9, S. 308-314 Schirz, St.: Abluftreinigungsverfahren fn der Intensivtierhaltung. KTBL-Schrift 200. Darmstadt (1974)

249

Fig. 7: Bioscrubbers in a feedingstuff factory

Fig. 8: Bioscrubbers for the sludge stabilization of a sewage plant - central version

250

Fig. 9: Pole packings in drawers

Fig. 10: Bioscrubbers for the sludge stabilization of a sewage plant - individual version

251
AERATION OF PIG SLURRY TO CONTROL ODOURS AND TO REDUCE NITROGEN LEVELS M. COPELLI, S. DE ANGELIS and G. BONAZZI Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali Via Crispi, 3 - Reggio Emilia, Italy Summary In areas where swine production is highly concentrated, land spreading is problematic, due to the excess of manure in relation to crop-farming requirement, the emission of undesirable odours and risks of transmitting disease. Emilia-Romagna, a Northern Italian re gion with a high number of swine raising enterprises and head of stock, is a case in point. The regional Authorities have financed research into a system of treating pig manure to lower its Nitrogen level, deodorize it and sanitate it at a price accessible to the farmer. The trial system is composed of 4 storage tanks in which the slurry is subjected to various types of treatment. The tests are still in process, the first results, however, appear to indicate that the desired objectives can be attained with intermittent aeration treatment. Indeed with this method partial sanitation, almost total deodorisation and a considerable reduction in the nitrogen level are obtained.

1 . INTRODUCTION

Emilia-Romagna, a region which represents a twentieth of the total land area of Italy, contains 2,300,000 head, a quarter of the national pig population. This population is not distributed uniformally within the region, but is concentrated in the area where Parmesan cheese is produced. Swine rearing in this area is an age-old tradition since it is linked to the production of whey, which has always been used as a feeding stuff. The great increase in the number of swine reared in the area in the last 20 years is due to the increases in national pork consumption and to the presence, in this same area, of the country's largest butchering and pork processing industries. The average size of the farms is 600 head, 48% of the pig population is contained in farms with more than 1000 head, the vast size of which along with the dense concentration of these farms in the area heighten the problem of manure disposal. Land spreading is problematic as there is a surplus of pig manure in relation to crop-farming needs. By far the most prevalent type of cultiva tion is lucerne (taking up about 45% of cultivated land); this is followed by vine and fruit growing (15%) for which pig manure is unsuitable. This leaves about 15 meadow land and 25% arable land (sugar beets and cereals) where land spreading can be pratctised, too small a percentage, if we consider that in this area there are also cattle (about 0,8 tons live weight per hectare) which provide farmers with manure they prefer. A further difficulty derives from the presence of housing and residential centres in the area, since land spreading gives rise to complaints from residents about undesirable smells and provokes worry about sanitary risks. In this kind of environmental situation then, pig manure can only be

252
successfully put to agricultural use if it can be treated, with the following results: - acceptable decdorisation; - sufficient loss of nitrogen by volatilization to eliminate the excess in relation to crop-farming requirements; - reduction in the pathogenic bacteria count; - limitation of treatment costs to under 15 lira/Kg of meat produced. As a primary measure in this direction the Authorities of the Emilia Romagna Region have passed a law whereby the volume of manure farmers store must correspond to production over a 90 day period. The law aims at avoiding spreading in winter months and reducing, in part, the pathogenic bacterial count. To test the potential in pursuing these objectives, the Administration Authorities for the Bmilia-Romagna Region financed experiments, both on aerobic treatment and anaerobic digestion. In this paper, we report the first results obtained in experiments on aerobic treatment. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS Experimentation was carried out on a farm where a trial installation was set up, consisting of 4 storage tanks made of reinforced concrete, each with a utilizable volume of 100 m (Fig. 1). One tank was provided with a surface aerator (4 Kw) and a second with a mixer (1.3 Kw). Pumps for loading and unloading the tanks and devices for mechanical ly de-watering the slurry were also added to the experimental installation. 2.1 Method of experimentation The experimental tanks are gradually filled, over a period of 60 days, with slurry taken from the farm's reception pit. One of the tanks is loaded with clarified slurry after separation from the solid fraction. No treatment is effected at this stage. Once the maximum level catered for has been reached, loading is suspended in all the tanks and a new period of 60 days starts, where the fql lowing experimental conditions are realised: - tank with untreated raw slurry: the slurry remains undisturbed until unloading. This represents a reference situation to which the results obtained in the other 3 tanks can be compared; - tank with clarified slurry: in farms of the Emilia-Romagna area, this represents the most coniron storing condition. The clarified slurry remains undisturbed until unloading takes place; , - tank with aeration treatment: (power requirement 40 W/m for 6 hours per day). The aim here, is to establish the effect of deodorisation and sanitation of the slurry, when provoked by intermittent aeration. The tests also aimed at estimating the extent of the loss of Nitrogen in am moniacal form at various periods in the year. This effect is considered positive in Emilia-Romagna, for the reasons explained in the foreword. , - tank with agitation treatment: (power requirement: 16 W/m for 15 mins. per hour). The test aims to evaluate changes in slurry when subjected to anaerobic treatment and slow agitation, whithout heating. Bacterial activity is, in theory, assumed to be encouraged by the agitation, as the bacteria present on the solid fraction are dispersed in the entire slurry mass. The length of these tests was planned at 120 days (60 days to fill the tanks and 60 days for the treatment), since this period corresponds to an average retention time (of the slurry in the tanks) of 90 days, in

253

HIXEE

z
HIXEE

3
AKPA

-B&X/ s u j e e y -

aEBSBSTCIE

Fig. 1 - Trial installation for manure treatment. Tank 1. Raw slurry subjected to aeration treatment. Tank 2. Untreated, clarified slurry. Tank 3. Raw slurry subjected to homogenisation, before transferred to the other tanks. Tank 4. Untreated, raw slurry. Tank 5. Raw slurry subjected to agitation treatment.

being

254
accordance with the Region's legal requirements.
2.2 Methods of Sampling In order to reduce sampling errors, during the preliminary tests, in the sampling process, the slurry was sampled with a device, consisting of a rigid tube, 3 cm in diameter and 3 m in height, into which a plasticcoated steel cable was placed, to which a rubber sphere, 6 cm in diameter was anchored. The sphere closes the lower end of the tube itself. The whole column, apart from a small portion of the sediment, is sam pled in this way. The chemical checks were carried out every 15 days, determining: pH, Conductivity, C.O.D., Ammoniacal Nitrogen, Orthophosphate Phosphorus; and, furthermore, each month: Total phosphorus, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Total Solids and Volatile Solids. The methods utilized are those indicated in the Standard Methods (A.P.H.A., 1980). The amount of matter particles sedimented in the tanks was estimated with the use of appropriate sampling devices located at the bottom of the tanks and withdrawn after a variable permanence of 40 to 60 days. 3. FIRST RESULTS Several preliminary tests have been carried out to date. These have been used to set up the experimental system, the plan of analytical deter minations and method of sampling. They were followed by two complete cycles of tests, one in the Feb. - May period and the other in the Jul. Oct. period of the same year. A third cycle is currently under way. 3.1. Reduction of the Organic Load and Nutrients The data collected so far are currently being processed; it is never theless possible to pick out certain indicative values, bearing in mind that these may be modified somewhat in the final analysis. Table I reports the range of variations of some of the characteristics of the slurry, determined during loading. As the table shows, the slurry is greatly diluted and indeed it was taken from a farm of growing-finishing pigs, raised on whey-based liquid feeding, where a certain amount of water is also used for cleaning the boxes. Tank filling (to 260 cm) was completed after 60 days. At this point the characteristics of the slurry in each of the 4 tanks was recorded. Reduction in the various parameters was revealed, which, depending on the time of year, varies from 20 and 30% for the V.S., from 10 to 15% for the Total Nitrogen, from 25 to 40% for the C.O.D., from 30 to 50% for the B.O.D.5 (table I). Once filling was completed, the aeration and agitation treatment was started in the 2 purpose-built tanks, while in the other 2 tanks the slur ry was left undisturbed.
PARAMETERS CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOADED SLURRY g/i 20-25 13-17 2.0-2.2 1.5-1.8 22-28 15-18 REDUCTION PERCENTAGES DURING FILLING

TOTAL SOLIDS VOLATILE SOLIDS TOTAL NITROGEN NH4-N C.O.D. B.O.Dg

10-20 20-30 10-15 5-15 25-40 30-50

Table I. The main characteristics of slurry used in the tests an percenta ges revealed when tank filling was complete.

255
The analytical data concerning this second period are, at present being processed. At a first, brief examination, however, considerable dif ferences in final characteristics (at the end of the tests), already emer ge, in response to the kind of storage method adopted. Since the processes concerned here are predminantly biological, differences between the various storage conditions are as, predicted, more accentuated in the hot season. In the test period Feb. - April '84, in which the temperature of the slurry in the tanks was lower than 7C, during the first 2 months (it in creased to 17 - 18 C only during the final phase), changes in the parameters under observation were less marked, except in the tank where aeration had been carried out. In this predominantly wintery testing period, further reductions in the various parameters were observed after the tanks had been filled. The C.O.D. for example was reduced by 20% in the tank without treatment; by 30% in the one with agitation and by 50% in the aerated tank. The Total Nitrogen was brought down by 30-35% in the aerated tank and by less than 20% in the other types of storage tanks. In the test carried out in the period July-Oct. '84, in which the temperature of the slurry remained between 16 and 24C for the entire pe riod, more marked reductions were brought about in all the storage conditions: the organic substance (expressed as C.O.D.) was reduced by 25-30% in the tanks without treatment, by 30-40% in the tank with agitation and by 70-80% in the tank with aeration. Total Nitrogen was reduced by 20-30% in the tanks without treatment and in the one with agitation, and by more than 80% in the tank with aera tion. In the latter case a marked nitrification process was also noted: 7% of the Total Nitrogen, initially present, was nitrified. 3.2 Odour Reduction Odour was determined in accordance with Standard Methods (A.P.H.A. 1 80). Table II shows how almost total deodorization is obtained when aera tion treatment is practised. With the other types of treatment, too, there is a reduction in odour, most marked in the second period of tests (Jul. - Oct.), when temperatures are higher. In this period odour reduction is already considerable after 60 days. 3.3 Microbiological Indices Literature on the microbiological aspects regarding techniques of treating and stabilising faeces is scarse and, to a certain extent, contradictory. This is not so for farmyard manure, where as we know, pathogenic micro-organisms originally present disappear over a period of about 10 days and in any case before maturation is complete. Little is known about the destiny of pathogenic agents in diluted slurry, particularly in relation to storage times and methods. Since direct studies and calculations of the survival rate of the specific pathogenic agents and viruses is complex and excessively laborious, we evaluated the possibility of risks to hygiene by means of indices of fecal contamination (streptococci and coliforms). In raw slurry left untreated and in the single test tanks at the end of treatment, the microbiological indices reported in table III were determined according to the official methodology (Standard Methods, '80). The results obtained show how the most efficient treatment in reducing the microbiological count is aeration, followed by agitation, as far as reduction of fecal coliforms is concerned, and also show that there is a direct link with seasonal conditions, i.e. temperature.

256
PERIOD FEB-MAY beginning of test after 120 days JUL-OCT beginning of test after 60 days after 85 days after 100 days after 120 days UNTREATED RAW SLURRY AERATED RAW SLURRY AGITATED RAW SLURRY UNTREATED CLARIFIED SLURRY

120 40

120 1.5

120 25

120 25

120 24 20 15 10

120 20 10 2 2

120 24 16 15 10

120 20 16 8 5

Table II. Threshold Odour Numbers determined at 25C at various stages of slurry storage.

TYPE OF TREATMENT

TOTAL COLIFORMS M.P.N/100 ml 12.10' 21.10 4.10' 93.10 43.10, 4.10 11.10, 9.10 93.10:; 4.10

FECAL COLIFORMS M.P.N/100 ml 14.10^ 40.10 <10 900 4.10J <10 11.10 <10 15.10-* <10

FECAL STREPTOCOCCI M.P.N/100 ml 11.10' 46.lo' 11.10, 46.10J 11.10, 43.10J 21.10, 43.10J 24.10' 46.10

FRESH SLURRY Beginning of 1st cycle Beginning of 2nd cycle AERATED SLURRY End of 1st cycle End of 2nd cycle AGITATED SLURRY End of 1st cycle End of 2nd cycle UNTREATED CLARIFIED SLURRY End of 1st cycle End of 2nd cycle UNTREATED RAW SLURRY End of 1st cycle End of 2nd cycle

Table III. Microbiological indices determined two cycles of tests.

in the slurry during the

257
4. CONCLUSIONS The experiments are not yet complete and the data collected so far need further processing. The data seem to indicate, however, that aeration treatment is the type that best responds to the needs of areas which accommodate high concentrations of swine, where quantities of manure exceed crop-farming requirements. In addition, modest sanitation, good deodorization, often discussed in literature on the subject (1,2,3) and a marked reduction in nitrogen levels can be achieved, at low energy costs (10-15 lira/kg meat produced) within the farmer's financial possibilities. Confirmation of these affirmations, may be supplied by the 3rd cycle of tests, which are currently being carried out. REFERENCES (1) - GINNIVAN, M.J. (1983). The effects of aeration rate on odour and so lids of pig slurry - Agric. Wastes, 7:197-207. (2) - JONGEBREUR, A.A. (1981). Odour control in Animal production - Inf. Bull, from the FAO European netarork on Animal Waste Utilization. (3) - MINER, J.R. (1980). Controlling Odors from Livestock Production facilities: State of the Art. Proceedings 4th Int. Symp. on Livestock Waste - ASAE.

258
OXYGEN REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTROLLING ODOURS FROM PIG SLURRY BY AERATION A.G.WILLIAMS, M.SHAW, C.M.SELVIAH, R.J.CUMBY National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, U.K. Summary

P i l o t scale continuous-culture experiments are described, which determine the oxygen requirements for c o n t r o l l i n g odour from pig slurry. Odour control and the s t a b i l i t y of the treated slurries were measured using v o l a t i l e f a t t y acids (VFA) as i n d i c a t o r s of odour offensiveness. Oxygen consumption was measured by the changes in chemical oxygen demand (COD), N02~ and N0*~. Biodegradation was measured by the changes in total solids, volatile solids, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD ), VFA and COD. Increasing the residence time from 1 to 4.8 d s i g n i f i c a n t l y (P=0.001 ) increased biodegradation, oxygen consumption and the s t a b i l i t y of the treated slurry. Increasing the aeration level from a redox potential of +50 m V Eh to +200 m V Eh and further to 0.5-2.0 mg/1 dissolved oxygen had no significant effect on carbonaceous oxygen consumption or s o l i d s d e s t r u c t i o n , but n i t r i f i c a t i o n was inhibited when redox cotrol was used and the residual B0Dw of the treated slurries were higher. The s t a b i l i t y of the t r e a t e d s l u r r y was r e l a t e d to the c o n t e n t of r e s i d u a l biodegradable COD, when an allowance was made for N02~ and N0*~. The energy requirements for treating slurry from a standard fattening pig ranged from 110-225 Wh/d to obtain s t a b i l i t i e s after treatment of 18-56 days.

1. INTRODUCTION Intensive pig production is the major cause of complaints about agricultural odours in the U.K.(1 ). 56? of such complaints received by local authorities in 1982 concerned pig farms and 69? of these were about the storage and spreading of manure, which is usually handled as slurry. The numbers of prosecutions against farmers are increasing and the public are becoming increasingly intolerant of odours from livestock units. The effective control of odours from pig slurry is thus important. The odours normally released from untreated slurries can be controlled by biological treatment. Aerobic treatment is the most effective method , but energy is required to operate aerators. The cost of aerobic treatment can be reduced principally by two methods; increasing the efficiency of aerators and defining the minimum quantities of oxygen needed to effect odour control. The latter is the subject of this paper. Two oxygen requirements can be defined, firstly the oxygen required to eliminate odours and secondly the oxygen required to stabilize the slurry during any subsequent storage. After short-term aeration, some substrates remain, which may be degraded during subsequent anaerobic storage to produce malodorous compounds (2). In order to design treatment systems to deal with the needs of a wide variety of farmers, it must be known how stable a slurry will be after a particular treatment. Workers elsewhere have investigated the batch and continuous-culture

259
treatment of s l u r r i e s at 15-50 C u s i n g laboratory-scale reactors (3,4). Evans e t a l (3,4) produced e x p r e s s i o n s , based on Monod k i n e t i c s (5) describing the destruction of s o l i d s , oxygen consumption and concentration of r e s i d u a l b i o c h e m i c a l oxygen demand (BOD) i n the t r e a t e d s l u r r i e s . Williams (6) showed that the odour offensiveness of treated s l u r r i e s was r e l a t e d to s o l u b l e BOD. By combining the e x p r e s s i o n s produced by t h e s e workers, i t was s u g g e s t e d that the minimum a e r o b i c treatment f o r c o n t r o l l i n g odours would r e q u i r e a two day r e s i d e n c e time (7). These s t u d i e s did n o t , however, i n d i c a t e the expected s t a b i l i t y of t r e a t e d s l u r r i e s . The s t a b i l i t y of s l u r r i e s f o l l o w i n g batch a e r a t i o n was l a t e r shown to be a f u n c t i o n of the s l u r r y c o n c e n t r a t i o n and of the e x t e n t of treatment before storage (2). This paper d e s c r i b e s the measurement of the oxygen consumption of s l u r r i e s during c o n t i n u o u s - c u l t u r e treatment and t h e i r subsequent s t a b i l i t y . Continuous-culture treatment was evaluated as i t i s l i k e l y to be more e f f i c i e n t i n the use of oxygen than batch t r e a t m e n t . This i s because i n batch treatment the oxygen demand changes more than 1 0 - f o l d within a few days (8), while in a continuous-culture treatment in steady s t a t e the demand for oxygen i s constant. Furthermore, a stable bacterial population i s able to grow during continuous-culture treatment, while the population constantly changes in a batch culture.
2 . MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Slurry The s l u r r y used was p r o d u c e d by f a t t e n i n g p i g s of 1 5 - 4 0 kg l i v e w e i g h t , fed on a p e l l e t e d r a t i o n c o n t a i n i n g 1 8^ crude p r o t e i n , w i t h ad libitum access to water. Slurry was c o l l e c t e d weekly from the channel underneath the p a r t i a l l y - s l a t t e d floor of the j e t - v e n t i l a t e d house. I t was removed after r e c i r c u l t i o n in the 16 m? channel for at l e a s t one hour with a 3*1 k W c e n t r i f u g a l pump. The s l u r r y was then m e c h a n i c a l l y separated w i t h a b r u s h e d - s c r e e n , r o l l e r - p r e s s s e p a r a t o r c o n t a i n i n g a 1.6 m m dia perforated screen. The separated slurry was c o l l e c t e d i n a 10 m? holding tank and the s o l i d s were discarded. The separated slurry was mixed i n the holding tank by a 1 k W centrifugal pump for at l e a s t 1 h and was analysed for t o t a l s o l i d s (TS). Next day, i t was d i l u t e d , i f a p p r o p r i a t e , to a nominal 30 g/1 TS. 2.2 Chemical analyses The following c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were analysed by standard methods (9): TS, v o l a t i l e s o l i d s (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), Kjeldahl nitrogen (Kj-N) and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH^-N). The biochemical oxygen demand of whole s l u r r y (B0D w ) was analysed by a d i l u t i o n method (10). Volatile f a t t y a c i d s (VFA) were analysed by gas chromatography (2). N i t r a t e and n i t r i t e nitrogen (NO-j-N, NO2-N) were analysed with indicator s t r i p s . 2.3 Treatment apparatus The treatment apparatus (Fig 1) consisted of a feed tank and two 500 l i t r e working volume reactors. They had glass reinforced p l a s t i c w a l l s and were i n s u l a t e d e x t e r n a l l y w i t h 50 m m expanded p o l y s t y r e n e . They were designed for semi-continuous feeding, w i t h r e s i d e n c e t i m e , temperature, foaming and aeration rate being controlled. The treatment conditions of dissolved oxygen concentration (DO), residence time, redox potential , pH and temperature were recorded on a data logger. Residence time was controlled by f i x i n g the rate of feeding untreated

260

Fig. 1

Pilot scale reactors for the aerobic treatment of pig slurry

261
s l u r r y auch t h a t p r e d e t e r m i n e d d o s e s of 5 t o 20 kg were pumped I n e v e r y one or two hours. This was achieved by weighing each r e a c t o r continuously, using a load c e l l , and c o n t r o l l i n g the pumping operations with a process t i m e r . Within a feeding cycle, a discharge pump emptied s l u r r y down t o a p r e s e t r e a c t o r mass, then, a f t e r a 10 minute w a i t , feed s l u r r y was pumped in u n t i l a second p r e s e t mass was reached. As each r e a c t o r was i n s u l a t e d , the heat l i b e r a t e d during t r e a t m e n t was s u f f i c i e n t to r a i s e the r e a c t o r temperature above 28C. Surplus heat was removed i n response to a c o n t r o l l e r by a heat exchanger, supplied with tap water, a t a constant pressureFoaming was c o n t r o l l e d by s i t u a t i n g an i m p e l l e r , which was driven a t 1400 rev/min, under a s q u a r e - s e c t i o n pyramidal d r a f t tube. The i m p e l l e r sucked headspace a i r and foam i n t o the t r e a t e d s l u r r y . As foam b u i l t up i t flowed down t h e t u b e and was r e c y c l e d by t h e i m p e l l e r . No o t h e r mechanical device was needed to c o n t r o l foam. Aeration was c o n t r o l l e d a t one of t h r e e r a t e s by connecting e i t h e r a dissolved oxygen (DO) or redox e l e c t r o d e , as a p p r o p r i a t e (Section 2.4), to a m e t e r c o n t a i n i n g a t r i p a m p l i f i e r . The t r i p a m p l i f i e r o p e r a t e d a t two s e t p o i n t s and switched two solenoid valves to allow the entry of a i r a t a high or low flow r a t e through a pipe t h a t emerged under the i m p e l l e r . 2.4 Experimental design Twelve t r e a t m e n t s were i n v e s t i g a t e d (Table I ) i n which the residence t i m e s were n o m i n a l l y 1,2,3 and 4 d a y s . At each r e s i d e n c e t i m e , t h e a e r a t i o n r a t e was c o n t r o l l e d a t low, medium or high r a t e s (runs 1L-4L, 1M4M and 1H-4H r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . The lowest two a e r a t i o n r a t e s c o n t r o l l e d the mixed l i q u o r redox p o t e n t i a l i n t h e r a n g e 0 t o +100 mV Eh o r +100 t o +200 m V Eh. D i s s o l v e d oxygen (DO) was n o t n o r m a l l y d e t e c t a b l e a t e i t h e r redox value, but conditions were aerobic (11) and t r e a t m e n t a t these redox v a l u e s had been found e f f e c t i v e on a l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e (7). The h i g h a e r a t i o n r a t e m a i n t a i n e d DO between 0.5 and 2 mg/1 so a s n o t t o i n h i b i t Table I . Mean values of redox p o t e n t i a l , temperature, residence time, pH and DO i n t h e t w e l v e t r e a t m e n t s ( s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s a r e shown i n parentheses). Run number Redox.mV E h Temp,C r e s . time.d pH Run number Redox,mV E h Temp,C r e s . time,d pH Run number DO,mg/1 Temp,C r e s . time,d pH 1L 51 33-3 1.0 7.95 (17) (0.8) (0.1) (0.06) 2L 78 31.8 2.3 7.85 2M 181 31.5 2.1 7.98 2H (0.3) (4.7) (0.1) (0.35) 1.0 32.7 2.1 7.67 (0.1) (0.5) (0.3) (0.53) (69) (3.6) (0.3) (0.14) (37) (3.8) (0.2) (0.14) 3L 13 33.2 3.6 7.62 3H 162 33.8 3.8 8.47 3H 1.3 33.8 3.6 7.45 (0.1) (0.8) (0.4) (0.16) (37) (0.4) (0.7) (0.12) (50) (2.0) (0.4) (0.12) 4L 83 (11) 34.7 (0.4) 4.4 (0.7) 8.01 (0.05) 4M 186 (102) 31.2 ( 1 . 8 ) 4 . 8 (1.0) 8.26 (0.05) 4H 0.8 27.8 4.1 7.04 (0.1) (1.1) (0.5) (0.08)

1 M 114 33.7 1.1 7.43 1H 0.5 33.1 1.1 8.04 (51) (0.4) (0.1) (0.06)

262
m i c r o b i a l a c t i v i t y . The u s e of redox p o t e n t i a l as a c o n t r o l p a r a m e t e r allows aerobic conditions t o be maintained, while i n h i b i t i n g n i t r i f i c a t i o n (the b i o l o g i c a l oxidation of NH^ to NOj" and N0*~) and possibly i n h i b i t i n g the d e s t r u c t i o n of some carbonaceous s u b s t r a t e s , but not so as to prevent t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e s o l u b l e compounds r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c a u s i n g t h e o f f e n s i v e o d o u r s of s l u r r y . F u r t h e r m o r e , by m a i n t a i n i n g DO a t z e r o t h e diffusion gradient of oxygen from the atmosphere to s l u r r y i s maximised. The temperature range, 28-55 C, was i n the mesophilic range of b a c t e r i a l activity. The r a n g e s of redox p o t e n t i a l b e t w e e n t h e low and h i g h redox r u n s were s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t , both when grouped t o g e t h e r and as i n d i v i d u a l r u n s (P=0.001 ). S i m i l a r l y , DO was s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r (P=0.001 ) i n t h e high D O runs than any of the redox runs. I n each t r e a t m e n t , a p p r o x i m a t e l y s t e a d y s t a t e conditions (12) were assumed t o p r e v a i l a f t e r o p e r a t i o n f o r 3 r e s i d e n c e t i m e s w i t h o u t mechanical f a i l u r e . Each t r e a t m e n t was then run for 20 days during which analyses were made d a i l y and, i n a d d i t i o n , t r e a t e d s l u r r y was accumulated i n 10 l i t r e , c l o s e d c o n t a i n e r s , i n n o m i n a l 0.5 l i t r e d a i l y b a t c h e s . The q u a n t i t y of t r e a t e d s l u r r y added d a i l y was adjusted to compensate for the volume removed d u r i n g s a m p l i n g , so t h a t t h e mean volume of each d a i l y i n c r e m e n t a f t e r 20 days was 0.5 l i t r e . The c o n t a i n e r s were k e p t a t 10C and t h e c o n t e n t s sampled t w i c e weekly t o a s s e s s t h e s t a b i l i t y of t h e t r e a t e d s l u r r y . VFA were used as i n d i c a t o r s of odour offensiveness (2,6). S t a b i l i t y was measured as the time taken to reach two concentrations of VFA, 0.23 and 0.65 g / 1 . S l u r r i e s c o n t a i n i n g up t o 0.23 g / 1 VFA were c o n s i d e r e d a c c e p t a b l e by an odour p a n e l ( 6 ) , w h i l e a t h r e s h o l d of u n e q u i v o c a l u n a c c e p t a b i l i t y was r e a c h e d a t 0.65 g / 1 VFA. Thus, s l u r r i e s stored u n t i l the VFA c o n c e n t r a t i o n reaches 0.23 g/1 should not cause odour problems, while those containing above 0.65 g/1 should r e l e a s e offensive odours. The consumption of oxygen was measured chemically by changes in COD, N0 2 " and N0 5 ". The e x p e r i m e n t s were c a r r i e d out b e t w e e n November 1982 and A p r i l 1 984, i n a randomised order. 3 . RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Feed s l u r r y The average composition of the feed s l u r r y used i n the t r e a t m e n t s i s shown i n T a b l e 2. The c o m p o s i t i o n of TS, VS and COD d i d n o t v a r y s i g n i f i c a n t l y between runs. There was s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a t i o n (P=0.001) i n B0D w , VFA and NH-z-N, which was r e l a t e d t o t h e t i m e of y e a r . These c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s g e n e r a l l y i n c r e a s e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o TS i n summer when h i g h e r a m b i e n t t e m p e r a t u r e s promoted m i c r o b i a l a c t i v i t y . The a v e r a g e chemical composition was very s i m i l a r to t h a t of s l u r r i e s used elsewhere i n l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e treatment experiments (3,4,7,13). 3-2 Chemical changes with treatment 3.2.1 Carbonaceous c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s The d e s t r u c t i o n of carbonaceous s u b s t r a t e s during treatment r e s u l t e d i n s i g n i f i c a n t (P=0.001 ) d e c r e a s e s of TS, VS, B0D w , VFA (Table I I I ) and COD (Fig 2) i n every run. The d e s t r u c t i o n of VS and TS were very s i m i l a r in each run being i n the range 2-20?. COD d e s t r u c t i o n was higher, 21-38?, while B0Dw removal was 46-85?. Destruction of VFA was n e a r l y t o t a l a t 98100?. E t h a n o i c a c i d was u s u a l l y t h e only i n d i v i d u a l VFA found i n t h e t r e a t e d s l u r r i e s . T h i s was t a k e n t o be t h e " r e s i d u a l e t h a n o i c a c i d " ( 6 ) ,

263

0.8 COD out/in 0.7

T

0.6

<_
2 3 Residence time, days Fig. 2 Destruction of COD with respect to residence time. Low ( ) , medium (T) and high ( ) aeration rates and the curve of Evans et al ( ). 4.0 ,Predicted mixed liquor BOD w g/l

2 2.5 3.0 BOD w in treated slurry

3.5 g/l.

Fig. 3 M easured BOD w in treated slurry and values predicted from expression. (Iv) for low ( ) and medium () aeration rates and expression (M i) for the high ( ) aeration rate.

264
which i s a n o t h e r , unknown, compound t h a t sometimes causes i n t e r f e r e n c e during the gas chromatographic a n a l y s i s of t r e a t e d s l u r r i e s . Apart from VFA, d e s t r u c t i o n g e n e r a l l y i n c r e a s e d w i t h r e s i d e n c e t i m e , T h i s was s i g n i f i c a n t a t P-0.001, when the data from a l l t h r e e a e r a t i o n r a t e s were combined. The o n l y s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t of a e r a t i o n r a t e , h o w e v e r , was on B0Dw. B0Dw c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n t h e s l u r r i e s following t r e a t m e n t a t high D O were s i g n i f i c a n t l y (P-0.001 ) l o w e r t h a n t h o s e t r e a t e d a t e i t h e r redox p o t e n t i a l , between which t h e r e was no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e (Table I I I ) . Table I I . Average composition of feed s l u r r y Mean g/1 TS VS Ash TSS COD B0Dw BODs VFA HH,-N Kj-N I n d i v i d u a l VFA Ethanoic Propanoic 2-methyl propanoic n-butanoic 2-methyl butanoicl 5-methyl butanoicj n-pentanoic (acetic) (propionic) (iso-butyric ) (n-butyric) (iso-valeric ) ) (3-methyl b u t y r i c ) J (n-valeric) 29.0 20.9 8.1 23.8 39.9 10.7 4.56 4.43 2.72 3.53 sd 2.2 2.1 1.1 3-1 5.1 3.2 1.2 1.2 .47 55 n 174 171 171 174 172 144 155 146 174 39 % of TS (/w) 72 28 82 137 37 16 15 9 12 % of t o t a l VFA (w/w) 64 20 2 9 4 1

Table I I I . Mean c o m p o s i t i o n of t h e t r e a t e d s l u r r i e s . The p e r c e n t a g e of each component compared w i t h i t s r e s p e c t i v e feed s l u r r y i s shown i n parentheses. Run 1L 2L 3L 4L 1H 2H 3M 4K 1H 2H 3H 4H
TS

VS (93) (93) (87) (86) (92) (93) (89) (86) (93) (81 ) (91) (84) 18.8 18.4 17.7 17.7 18.2 19.9 17.2 17.6 19.0 16.3 17.7 19.0 (94) (92) (84) (87) (97) (92) (86) (83) (92) (80) (87) (83)

BOD 3.84 3.42 1.79 3-93 3.61 3.85 3.43 2.42 2.27 2.57 2.93 2.09 (43) (54) (26) (29) (46) (22) (18) (27) (39) (15) (22) (21)

VFA g/1 0.04 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.08 0.01 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.00 0.01 (1) (0) (1) (0) (2) (1) (2) (2) (2) (1) (0) (1)

NH5-N 2.14 2.02 1.87 1.71 2.01 1-50 2.36 1.62 1.55 1.20 0.44 0.24 (87) (88) (76) (91) (81) (89) (89) (96) (66) (63) (23) (10)

N0,-N 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.30 0.40 0.56

N0,-N 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.20 0.48 1.12

26.9 26.6 26.2 23.6 27.0 27.0 25.8 24.1 27.4 24.4 25.1 25.3

265
3.2.2 Nitrogen transformations N i t r i f i c a t i o n occurred only i n the high D O runs with residence times of 2 days and above (Table I I I ) ; t h i s was a l s o observed i n l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e s t u d i e s at 35 C by Evans e t a l (13). As the r e s i d e n c e time increased, the percentage of Kj-N oxidised increased from 9* at 2 days to 31 % at 3 days and 48* at 4.1 days. These are of the same order as those found by Evans et a l (13) within the range of 2-8 days. The degree of n i t r i f i c a t i o n did not increase l i n e a r l y with residence t i m e , but was more of a s t e p change. The accumulation of " n i t r i f i e d oxygen" (H0 2 ~ + NO^") was d e s c r i b e d by a l o g i s t i c growth curve (20), i n the range of residence times 2.1 to 4.1 days: n i t r i f i e d oxygen - 1.46 ^ . ^ ^ . a s ) ) ' ^

where R i s the residence time in days. 3-3 Comparison with the r e s u l t s of Evans et a l (4) The e f f e c t s of treatment at 15-50 "Con some of the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were studied by Evans et a l (4) using laboratory reactors. These were fed semi-continuously, with feed intervals of 5-20 min, and D O was maintained at about 20* of saturation. The treatment conditions were thus s i m i l a r to the high D O treatments used in the present study, but the main difference was t h a t Evans e t a l ' s 3 and 15 l i t r e r e a c t o r s were s m a l l e r than t h o s e used i n the p r e s e n t study by f a c t o r s of 167 and 33 r e s p e c t i v e l y . Evans et al's expression for TS and C O D take the form: TS or COD i n treated slurry -1 ' '
+ A + K C

(R

d^

(TS or COD i n feed s l u r r y ) , ( i i )

where K^ i s s p e c i f i c decay rate, C i s the non-biodegradable fraction, R i s residence time and A i s a constant, defined below. 3.3.1 T5 and VS For TS, Evans e t a l used the v a l u e s of 0.262, 0.4, 0.744 f o r A, K^ and C respectively. Their expression was applied to data from the present experiments and the changes i n TS so p r e d i c t e d agreed w e l l w i t h the observed changes at a l l aeration rates. The variance accounted for (VAC) was 95*. Evans et al did not model VS, however, the TS expression f i t t e d the data f a i r l y w e l l (88* VAC). The s i g n i f i c a n c e of the f i t of e i t h e r curve was not improved by a l t e r i n g the values of the c o e f f i c i e n t s . 3.3.2 COD
The changes of COD predicted from the expression of Evans et al agreed well with the changes observed at all aeration rates (96.7* VAC). The values of A, Kd and C were 0.33, 0.4 and 0.535 respectively. 3.3.3 BOD The BOD^ expression of Evans et al (ii) did not need to include a term for endogenous decay. Thus, B0D w in treated slurry becomes a function of residence time and feed BOD only. Evans's expression was: 11.57 + 0.15| (feed BOD ) . (iii)

266
This expression fitted the present high DO data fairly well, but not the redox data, as expected because of the significant (P-0.0O1) effect of aeration rate on B0Dy. The fit was greatly improved (VAC increased from 89-4? to 97.9?) for the combined redox data by fitting new coefficients (Fig 3) so that expression (iii) becomes: 11.30 + 0.231 (feed B0D w ) . (iv)

The increase of the non-biodegradable coefficient (C) shows that some restriction in treatment was evident in the redox runs, thus leaving a larger residual B0Dw, which could be expected, as the oxygen supply was restricted. This does, however, appear to contradict the fact that the changes in TS, VS and COD were independent of aeration rate, but may be explained by the fact that B0D w is partly renewable (2). Recalcitrant substrates that are not immediately available in untreated slurry may subsequently become available following the action of hydrolytic enzymes and mechanical attack by the impeller during aeration, thus producing "new" BODw. Thus, even with the same overall oxygen consumption (from the COD changes) it is possible that the residual BOD concentrations could differ. Precisely what substrates are involved, however, remains obscure. 3.4 Odour control and stability of treated slurries The treatments would all successfully control odours, since the total VFA concentrations in all slurries at the start of storage were below 0.23 g/1 (ie within the "acceptable" concentration range). The stability of the treated slurries during subsequent anaerobic storage increased significantly (P=0.001) with residence time (Figs 4 and 5). The time taken to reach 0.23 g/1 increased linearly with residence time. The slurries from the high DO runs were significantly (FO.001) more stable than those from the redox controlled runs. Stability was not significantly affected by the redox potential during treatment. The data were described by the following expressions, where R is residence time, in days for the high DO treatment: days to reach 0.23 g/1 and for the redox treatment: days to reach 0.23 g/1 4.6 5 + 4.6 , (98.3? VAC). = 3-9 R + 14 , (95.1* VAC)

The time taken to reach the "unacceptable" concentration of 0.65 g/1 VFA was an average of 1.6 times longer than the time taken to reach 0.23 g/1. One notable feature was the great stability of the treated slurry from run 4H. This probably resulted primarily from the high nitrified oxygen concentration. The nitrified oxygen can, like oxygen itself, act as an electron acceptor (15), thus permitting "aerobic" activity even in the absence of DO. Furthermore, once this source of oxygen is used, rapid anaerobic detruction of VFA can proceed because the NH^-N concentration has been lowered so minimising the inhibition of methanogenic anaerobic activity (2). The redox data were described by the following expression: days to reach 0.65 g/1 = 3.2 R + 17 , (96.8? VAC).

267

60 r Days to reach 0.65 g/l VFA

^
W

20

2 3 Residence time, d

50 p Days to reach 0.23 g/l VFA

2 3 Residence time, days Fig. 4 and 5 Time taken for VFA to reach 0.65 and 0.23 g/l during storage after treatment against treatment residence time. Low ( ) , medium (), and high ( ) aeration rates

268
The high DO data, including the nitrifying runs, did not follow a linear relationship, probably because the non-linear relationship of nitrification and residence time [expression (i)]. The main factors that determines stability is the amount of substrate available during anaerobic storage and whether a methanogenic population develops that can degrade odorous compounds to methane and COp- The available substrate was estimated previously (2) by calculating the residual biodegradable COD content (COD^), which is effectively the same as ultimate B0Dw. COD^ was also a good measure of stability in the present study, although it was calculated in a different way, by using expression (ii) for COD destruction. The coefficient of 0.535 (sections 3.3, 3.3.2) represents the non-biodegradable fraction of COD; thus the degradable fraction in a treated slurry can be calculated as

(f8edC0D)

| l +(,)[

COD^ correlated well with the stability of slurries treated under redox control, but less well with those treated with high DO, probably because of the presence of nitrified oxygen in the latter case. The presence of nitrified oxygen, when nitrification occurred, in effect reduced the concentration of CODb, as less CODb remained in the slurry once the nitrified oxygen was used. Assuming 100? utilisation of the nitrified oxygen, CODb was corrected by subtracting the amount of nitrified oxygen from it. The fit of the DO data was consequently greatly improved (Figs 6 and 7). The relationships were described by the expressions: days to reach 0.23 g/1 VFA days to reach 0.65 g/1 VPA = -2.685 (C0Db - nitrified oxygen) + 36 =-3-037 (C0Db - nitrified oxygen) + 48 , , (94.7* VAC), (87.1* VAC).

The allowance for nitrified oxygen still did not fully account for great stability of the treated slurry from run 4H, which probably partly resulted also from the low NH^-N content. More experimental data is needed to derive a satisfactory term for the inhibitory effect of NHj-N on methanogenesis. 3.6 Oxygen requirements and energy consumption The oxygen consumed during aerobic treatment can be calculated from the expressions for COD destruction and nitrification (i and ii). The oxygen consumed thus calculated correlated well with the stability achieved, with 97.5* and 96.3* VAC for the time taken to reach 0.23 and 0.65 g/1 VFA respectively. The energy required to supply this oxygen can be calculated, assuming an aerator efficiency of 1 kg 0, / kWh energy consumed. If one fattening pig produces 0.6 kg COD / d, then after separation, with 20* solids removal, the slurry production is equivalent to 12 1 at 3* TS. The energy required, in Wh, per pig place each day was described by the following expressions (Figs 8 and 9): days to reach 0.23 g/1 VFA = 0.182 aeration energy - 8.10 , (96.6* VAC), days to reach 0.65 g/1 VFA - 0.243 aeration energy - 7.75 , (95-9* VAC).

269

60 p 50 Days to 40 reach 0.65 g/l VFA 3 20 10 0 C O D . - nitrified oxyge n, g/l

10

ou

40 Days to reach 0.23 g/l 3 VFA 20 10 0

"""-

" i

"^C

"^
_l 8 1 10

4 6 COD^ - nitrified oxyge n, g/l

Fig. 6 and 7 Time taken for VFA to re ach 0.65 and 0.23 g/l during storage after tre atme nt against re sidual biode gradable COD (COD b ) minus nitrified oxyge n Low ( ) , me dium () and high ( ) ae ration rate s

270

60 r
Days to reach 0.65 g/l 40 VFA

20

J 100

l_

_l

I 150

L. 200

Aerator energy Wh pig place" d

50 Days to reach 0.23 g/l VFA

30

10

100

150 Aerator energy Wh pig place'1 d' 1

200

Figs. 8 and 9 Time taken for VFA to reach 0.65 and 0.23 g/l during storage after treatment against aeration energy, assuming an aerator efficiency of 1 kg 0 2 /kWh. Low ( ) , medium (T) and high ( ) aeration rates.

271
The graphs show that the stability is more than doubled for a doubling of energy input and that the minimum energy consumption, without extrapolation is 110 Wh pig place" day . The expressions above are based on slurry containing 30 g/1 TS. It should be emphasised that the concentration of the slurry has a major effect on stability, with stability decreasing as TS increases. Extrapolation from previous work with batch treatment and storage (2) suggests that slurry containing 43 g/1 would be less stable than slurry containing 30 g/1 by about 10 and 30? after treatment with residence times of 3 and 4 days respectively. Furthermore, a dilute slurry, containing less than 15 g/1 TS could be expected to be fully stabilised for a year following such treatments. 4. CONCLUSIONS 1. The offensive odours of untreated, separated pig slurry were controlled by aerobic treatment, at 28 to 35C with residence times of 1 to 4.8 d and with an aeration rate that maintained redox potential at 13 mV Eh and above. 2. The stability of the treated slurries during subsequent anaerobic storage increased from 10 to 56 days as both the treatment residence time and the aeration rate increased. 3. The stability of the treated slurries was directly related to the residual biodegradable COD content, with an allowance for nitrified oxygen being made when nitrification occurred in the DO controlled runs. 4. The stability of the treated slurries was linearly related to the oxygen consumed during treatment, which could be calculated using an expression for nitrification derived in the present study and one for COD changes produced by Evana et al (4) from laboratory scale experiments. 5. An expression predicting treated slurry B 0 D w during treatment with redox control is presented. 6. The minimum energy requirement for treating separated pig slurry to control odour was 110 Wh pig place" day" , assuming an aerator efficiency of 1kg 0 2 /kWh input. 7. There was no significant effect of aeration rate on the destruction of TS, VS, VFA or COD, thus the only saving in oxygen consumption of using redox control rather than DO control was in the inhibition of nitrification.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express his thanks to Sue Dimmock, Ros Nicol and Handy Lee for their analytical work and to Dr Roger Phillips and Dr John Randall for their help and advice in the preparation of this paper.

REFERENCES 1. INSTITUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS (1982) Appendix to annual report. London : IEHO 2. WILLIAMS, A.G., SHAW, H. and ADAMS, S.J. (1984). The biological stability of aerobically-treated piggery slurry during storage. J. agric. Engng Res. 29, 231 -239 3. EVANS, M.R., HISSETT, R., SMITH, M.P.W., ELLAM, D.F., BAINES, S. and

272
WOODS, L. (1979)- Effect of microorganism residence time on aerobic t r e a t m e n t of piggery waste. Agric. Wastes 1 (1 ), 67-85 4. EVANS, M.R., DEANS, E.A., HISSETT, R., SMITH, M.P.W., SVOBODA, I . ? , and THACKER, F.E. (1983). The e f f e c t of temperature and residence time on aerobic t r e a t m e n t of piggery s l u r r y - degradation of carbonaceous compounds. Agric. Wastes 5, 25-56 5. MONOD, J. (1949). The g r o w t h of b a c t e r i a l c u l t u r e s . Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 3, 571-394 6. WILLIAMS, A.S.Q984). I n d i c a t o r s of piggery slurry odour offensiveness. Agric. Wastes 10 ( 1 ) , 15-36 7. WILLIAMS, A.G. (1981). The b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of odours emanating from piggery s l u r r y . PhD t h e s i s : U n i v e r s i t y of Glasgow 8. HISSETT, R., DEANS, E.A. and EVANS, M.R. (1982). Oxygen c o n s u m p t i o n during batch a e r a t i o n of piggery s l u r r y a t temperatures between 5 and 50i!C. Agric. Wastes 4, 477-487 9. APHA. (1971) Standard methods for the examination of waters and wastewaters (13th Ed.). New York : American Public Health Association 10. WILLIAMS, A.G. (1983). O r g a n i c a c i d s , b i o c h e m i c a l oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand i n the s o l u b l e f r a c t i o n of piggery s l u r r y . J. Sci. Food Agric. 34, 212-220 11. HEWITT, L.F. (1950). O x i d a t i o n - r e d u c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s i n b a c t e r i o l o g y and biochemistry (6th Ed.). Edinburgh : Livingstone 12. SMITH, M.P.W. and EVANS, M.R. (1982). The e f f e c t s of low d i s s o l v e d oxygen t e n s i o n during the aerobic treatment of piggery s l u r r y i n completely mixed r e a c t o r s . J. appl. Bact. 5 3 , 117-126 13. EVANS, M.R., SVOBODA, I.F. and BAINES, S. (1982). Heat from aerobic t r e a t m e n t of piggery s l u r r y . J. a g r i c . Engng Res. 27, 45-50 ~H. ROSS, G.J.S. (1980) Maximum l i k e l i h o o d p r o g r a m . H a r p e n d e n : Rothamsted Experimental S t a t i o n 15 ROSE, A.H. (1968) Chemical microbiology. London : Butterworth

273

AERATION

AND

ODOUR

CONTROL BY HETEROTROPHIC

AND AUTOTROPHIC MICROORGANISMS

M.R. EVANS and S. BAINES The West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr, KA6.5HW, Scotland, U.K.

Summary The control of odour from piggery slurry by continuous culture aerobic treatment systems is affected by treatment time, temperature and dissolved oxygen level. The techniques of monitoring these treatment systems for initial and residual odour, odour stability during storage, oxygen demand by heterotrophic and autotrophic bacteria are discussed. The selection of the appropriate treatment time, treatment temperature and rate of aeration can be determined from a series of equations and, together with specifications of the aerator and insulation factors of the reactor, permit the design of an aerobic treatment system to meet defined objectives in terms of odour control and stability.

INTRODUCTION The characteristic odours of slurries of animal wastes are largely due to the release of volatile organic compounds from the fermentative degradation of faecal residues. These compounds are the normal end products of catabolism by anaerobic bacteria. Odours create problems when they have nuisance value giving rise to complaints. The nuisance value is a function of both odour intensity and offensiveness. Whereas, most odours create nuisance at high intensity, at low intensity, nuisance is most frequently associated with offensiveness. The total elimination of odour from slurry may be neither feasible or necessary, and therefore, several workers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) have favoured the subjective assessment of offensiveness rather than objective tests of intensity. However, the frequent use of odour panels for offensiveness testing in the routine monitoring of the performance of a treatment

1.

274 system i s g e n e r a l l y r e g a r d e d as cumbersome, time-consuming and e x p e n s i v e . Numerous a u t h o r s ( 6 , 7 , 8, 9) h a v e t r i e d t o c o r r e l a t e t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of s p e c i f i c compounds w i t h odour but none h a v e been r e a l l y s a t i s f a c t o r y . The p r e s e n c e of s p e c i f i c compounds may i n d i c a t e a p o t e n t i a l n u i s a n c e , b u t t h e i r absence does n o t imply t h e absence of a l t e r n a t i v e o d o r a n t s . W i l l i a m s (10) d e m o n s t r a t e d a good c o r r e l a t i o n between t h e s u p e r n a t a n t BODc ( g / 1 ) of p i g g e r y s l u r r y and i t s o d o u r offensiveness. T h i s r e g r e s s i o n was l a t e r amended u s i n g d a t a of a wider range of o f f e n s i v e n e s s v a l u e s (11). A l a r g e c o m p o n e n t of s u p e r n a t a n t BODc i s c o m p r i s e d of o r g a n i c a c i d s and s i m i l a r c o r r e l a t i o n s e x i s t between t o t a l o r g a n i c a c i d s c o n c e n t r a t i o n (TOA) and o d o u r o f f e n s i v e n e s s . The c o r r e l a t i o n i s n o t a s good a s t h a t of s o l u b l e BOD5 b u t t h e e s t i m a t i o n of TOA i s a much q u i c k e r p r o c e d u r e . When a b a t c h of s l u r r y i s a e r a t e d , i t s o f f e n s i v e odour soon d i s a p p e a r s l a r g e l y due t o b i o d e g r a d a t i o n . In b a t c h aeration, the microbial respiration rate r i s e s rapidly d u r i n g t h e f i r s t 12h and t h e n f a i l s e q u a l l y r a p i d l y t o a much lower l e v e l (12). Thus i t i s d i f f i c u l t and e x p e n s i v e t o d e s i g n a b a t c h t r e a t m e n t r e a c t o r which i s e f f i c i e n t in t e r m s of u s e of a e r a t i o n e n e r g y . I t r e q u i r e s an a e r a t i o n r a t e which c o n t i n u a l l y v a r i e s in p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e changing respiration rate. C o n t i n u o u s c u l t u r e s y s t e m s of a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t a r e l i k e l y t o be more c o s t e f f e c t i v e s i n c e i n s t e a d y s t a t e conditions the respiration r a t e and h e n c e oxygen requirement, remain c o n s t a n t . This report d e s c r i b e s the e f f e c t s of mean t r e a t m e n t t i m e , t r e a t m e n t t e m p e r a t u r e and d i s s o l v e d oxygen l e v e l in a e r o b i c c o n t i n u o u s c u l t u r e s y s t e m s on t h e r e m o v a l of o d o r a n t s from p i g g e r y s l u r r y and on t h e h e t e r o t r o p h i c oxygen demand d u r i n g t r e a t m e n t . MONITORING A TREATMENT SYSTEM The performance of many e x i s t i n g t r e a t m e n t s y s t e m s on farms cannot be e x p l a i n e d because of i n a d e q u a t e m o n i t o r i n g . In t h e l a b o r a t o r y n u m e r o u s p a r a m e t e r s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e f u n c t i o n i n g of a r e a c t o r can be m o n i t o r e d . On a farm only a more r e s t r i c t e d m o n i t o r i n g programme i s p o s s i b l e , but t h e programme must i n c l u d e e s s e n t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n t o a s s e s s t h e efficiency of p e r f o r m a n c e . For a u n i t designed s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r o d o u r c o n t r o l t h e r e s i d u a l o d o u r and t h e potential for odour r e g e n e r a t i o n in t h e s l u r r y a f t e r t r e a t m e n t must be m o n i t o r e d . In a d d i t i o n , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o m o n i t o r t h e oxygen c o n s u m p t i o n , d i s s o l v e d oxygen (DO) l e v e l i n t h e r e a c t o r and n i t r a t e c o n c e n t r a t i o n if n i t r i f i c a t i o n is required. R e s i d u a l odour The o d o u r o f f e n s i v e n e s s i s b e s t a s s e s s e d by an o d o u r p a n e l b u t t h e i r f r e q u e n t use i s o f t e n i m p r a c t i c a l . Routine m o n i t o r i n g m u s t r e l y on an i n d i c a t o r s y s t e m . The s u p e r n a t a n t BODc was used a s an i n d i c a t o r by W i l l i a m s (10). Both s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 and TOA p r o v i d e i n d i c a t o r s (11) u s i n g 2.

275 equations 1 and 2. Odour offensiveness = 1.453LOG(sup.BOD5) + 2.32 Odour offensiveness = 2.387LOG(TOA) + 2.327 (1) (2)

Where odour offensiveness is described by a five point scale: 0 Inoffensive; 1 very faintly offensive; 2 faintly offensive; 3 definitely offensive; 4 strongly offensive; and 5 very strongly offensive. Odour S t a b i l i t y Odour w i l l r e t u r n in t r e a t e d s l u r r y as a r e s u l t of p o s t treatment fermentation. The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of r e a d i l y f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e s , measured as BOD5, p r o v i d e an indicator of t h i s problem. In continuous c u l t u r e without oxygen l i m i t a t i o n t h e BOD5 can be d e s c r i b e d by a model derived from the Monod (13) model of microbial growth (14). The supernatant BODg (g/1) from treatment a t 15 to 45C, was d e s c r i b e d by e q u a t i o n 3 and t h e whole BOD5 by e q u a t i o n s 4 and 5 (15). Sup. BOD5 (15-45) Whole BOD5 (15) = .11/R = 2.694/R + 0.202BODf (3) (4) (5)

Whole BOD5 (25-50) = 1.568/R + 0.152BODf

Where R is the mean treatment time and BODf the BODE (g/1) of the raw slurry. The reaction temperatures (C) are given in brackets. Nitrate can be used to delay a return to fermentation after treatment. In this case the nitrate concentration needs to be measured. It is important to realise that nitrate can be lost through denitrification within 20 minutes of removing the sample from the reactor. Oxygen Demand The oxygen demand of the heterotrophic microbes can be measured as the loss of COD. In the absence of oxygen limitation this was also described by equations (6, 7 & 8) developed from Monod kinetics (15). Hetero.Oxygen Demand (15) = [ .621-.547/(1+.14R)]CODf (6) (7) (8)

Hetero.Oxygen Demand (25-45) = [.465-.333/(1+.40R)]CODf Hetero.Oxygen Demand (50) = [.555-.429/(1+.70R)]CODf

Where R is the mean treatment time, CODf the COD (g/1) of the raw slurry and the reaction temperatures (C) are shown in brackets. When nitrification occurs 4.57 gram oxygen are used per gram of ammonia nitrogen oxidised. Thus the total

276
oxygen demand is then the sum of the autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration rates. DESIGN OF A TREATMENT SYSTEM The designs of most farm treatment systems have not fully utilised knowledge of the microbiology of continuous cultures. In relation to animal waste treatment three major factors affect the quality of the treated slurry. They are a) the mean treatment time, b) the reaction temperature and c) the level of dissolved oxygen in the reactor. The dilution factor of the excreta and the required quality of treated slurry then fix the volume of the reactor and the degree of heat conservation within the system to control the reaction temperature. The size of the aerator is then determined from the oxygen demand of the autotrophic and/or heterotrophic microbes, together with the efficiency of oxygen transfer into the slurry by the machine. Choice of Mean Treatment Time Without oxygen limitation in the reactor the oxygen demand and the characteristics of the treated slurry, including its odour offensiveness and its potential to regenerate odorants during subsequent storage are largely determined by the mean treatment time. The relationship between mean treatment time and the heterotrophic oxygen demand is described by equations 6-8 above. Odour offensiveness, monitored by the indicator supernatant BOD5 (16, 11), falls rapidly as the mean treatment time is extended. From the equations for the relationships between supernatant BODc and odour offensiveness (equation 1) and mean treatment time, (equation 3) the effect of mean treatment time (R, days) on odour offensiveness can be described (equation 9). Odour offensiveness = 0.927 - 1.453LOG(R) (9) a) 3.

If it is necessary to lower odour to a level below very faintly offensive (rating 1) then the minimum treatment time at psychrophilic and mesophilic temperatures will be 1 day. Williams (16) suggested that in many cass an odour level below faintly offensive (rating 2) should be acceptable. This would require a minimum treatment time of only 0.2 days. Thermophilic treatment at 50C left a higher residual supernatant BODc than that from similar mean treatment times but lower reaction temperatures (15). However, odour panel assessments of samples from a thermophilic reactor showed a similar relationship between odour and mean treatment time to that provided by equation 9, despite the slightly higher supernatant BOD5 (unpublished). This apparent contradiction is probably due to the logarithmic nature of the relationship and the small number of samples from thermophilic treatment, compared with the number from lower temperature treatment.

277 I f t h e s l u r r y i s t o be s t o r e d a f t e r t r e a t m e n t t h e residual, readily-fermentable substrate requires c o n s i d e r a t i o n . As t r e a t m e n t t i m e i s extended t h e t o t a l BOD5 f a l l s t o a minimum v a l u e of a b o u t 20% of i t s v a l u e i n raw s l u r r y a f t e r t r e a t m e n t a t 15C, or 15% a f t e r t r e a t m e n t a t h i g h e r t e m p e r a t u r e s , e q u a t i o n s 4 and 5. I t may be p o s t u l a t e d t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e a c t u a l r e s i d u a l t o t a l BODc and i t s minimal v a l u e w i l l p r o v i d e a more a c c u r a t e measure of t h e r e s i d u a l , r e a d i l y - f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e and hence an i n d i c a t i o n of t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r odour r e g e n e r a t i o n . A f t e r m e s o p h i l i c t r e a t m e n t of p i g g e r y s l u r r y , i n i t i a l l y d i l u t e d t o 1 0 g / l t o t a l BOD5 t h i s r e s i d u a l , readily f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e p o r t i o n would be 7.8 and 1.6 g / 1 from t h e 0.2 and 1 day mean t r e a t m e n t t i m e s ( e q u a t i o n 5) shown t o be t h e minimum t i m e s for odour removal t o a c c e p t a b l e l e v e l s . Such v a l u e s a r e h o w e v e r , u n a c c e p t a b l y h i g h . Owens e t a l (17) d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t w i t h a r e s i d u a l , r e a d i l y - f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e p o r t i o n of BOD5 of a b o u t 1 . 4 g / l t h e s u p e r n a t a n t BOD2 and t h e o d o u r i n c r e a s e d r a p i d l y d u r i n g t h e f i r s t 10 d a y s of p o s t t r e a t m e n t s t o r a g e . However, e x p e r i m e n t s t o s t u d y t h e r a t e of o d o u r r e g e n e r a t i o n h a v e shown t h a t w i t h r e s i d u a l , r e a d i l y - f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e l e v e l s of 0 . 2 g / l ( i . e . 7d t r e a t m e n t ) o d o u r r e g e n e r a t i o n t a k e s s e v e r a l d a y s (unpublished). Odour r e g e n e r a t i o n may be d e l a y e d by t h e p r e s e n c e of n i t r a t e , which p r o v i d e s a r e s e r v o i r of oxygen t h a t s e v e r a l h e t e r o t r o p h i c b a c t e r i a can use for o x i d a t i v e r e s p i r a t i o n in preference to fermentation. N i t r a t e w i l l only be p r e s e n t i f an a u t o t r o p h i c n i t r i f y i n g p o p u l a t i o n i s e s t a b l i s h e d i n the reactor. At 15C t h e d o u b l i n g time of N i t r o b a c t e r s p . . t h e s l o w e s t growing of t h e two genera of b a c t e r i a involved in n i t r i f i c a t i o n (18) i s about 3 d a y s , b u t t h i s f a l l s to about 2 days a t m e s o p h i l i c t e m p e r a t u r e s . However, t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a p o p u l a t i o n and i t s g r o w t h r a t e a r e a l s o a f f e c t e d by t h e r e a c t i o n t e m p e r a t u r e , pH v a l u e and d i s s o l v e d oxygen l e v e l as d e s c r i b e d below. b) Choice of r e a c t i o n temperature

Aerobic r e s p i r a t i o n i s h i g h l y e x o t h e r m i c . Thus l i t t l e i n s u l a t i o n i s n e c e s s a r y t o allow the t e m p e r a t u r e in t h e reactor to enter the mesophilic range. Laboratory e x p e r i m e n t s (14, 15) have shown t h a t t h e r e i s a s u b s t a n t i a l b e n e f i t from a l l o w i n g t h e r e a c t i o n t o s e l f - h e a t and r e a c h e q u i l i b r i u m w i t h i n t h e m e s o p h i l i c r a n g e , compared t o treatment at psychrophilic temperatures. Thermophilic t r e a t m e n t i n c r e a s e s t h e d e g r e e of d e g r a d a t i o n of c e l l u l o s i c r e s i d u e s and should e n s u r e pathogen k i l l b u t t h e a d v a n t a g e s t o t h e f a r m e r a r e p r o b a b l y n e g a t e d by t h e i n c r e a s e d t r e a t m e n t c o s t s b e c a u s e of t h e need f o r b e t t e r i n s u l a t i o n and t h e h i g h e r oxygen demand. c) Choice of a e r a t i o n rate

The a c t u a l l e v e l of DO c o n t i n u o u s l y m a i n t a i n e d i n t h e

278
reactor has a marked effect on both the autotrophic and heterotrophic populations. Autotrophic activity. Because of the low C:N ratio and its declining value as carbonaceous residues are degraded there is substantial ammonification. With all mean treatment times greater than the doubling time of Nitrobacter sp. nitrification will occur provided that oxygen is not limiting. Smith and Evans (19) found that with DO levels above 15% of saturation, nitrification continued until the culture was limited by a fall in pH level. Up to 40% of the slurry ammonia was oxidised. The autotrophic activity never achieved steady state and cycled between periods of activity when the pH value was above about 5.5 and periods of inactivity when the pH value fell below 5.5. Complete nitrification of all ammonia only occurred if the pH value was controlled at about 7 by the addition of alkali. When the DO level was held within the range of 1 to 15% of saturation a system of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification was established. The reduction of nitrate allowed the pH value to remain above 6 and nitrification to continue. Thus more than 70% of the ammonia was oxidised. If the DO level was held below 0.1% of saturation, nitrification was inhibited (unpublished). Autotrophic activity clearly has a very important effect on the residual manurial value of treated slurry, its odour stability and the costs of aeration. Denitrification can lose up to 70% of the ammoniacal nitrogen through nitrification and denitrification. High aeration rates and short mean treatment times can encourage similar losses as gaseous ammonia. Nitrification can account for up to 31% of the total oxygen consumed depending on mean treatment time with DO levels held above 15% saturation. With DO levels held between 1 and 15% of saturation, about 62.5% of the oxygen consumed by nitrification is subsequently used by the heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria (20). Thus the total oxygen consumption is only slightly higher than the carbonaceous oxygen demand in high DO systems. Heterotrophic activity. With the DO held above 1% saturation the degree of carbonaceous degradation is largely determined by the mean treatment time and reaction temperature as described above. With lower aeration rates the DO falls to some value between 0 and 1% of saturation. It has not been possible to monitor the DO at these levels but its control can be achieved indirectly from measuring the redox potential. At 1% of saturation the redox potential remains about 0 to 50 mV Ecal (pH 7.8). There is an exponential fall in redox potential as DO falls to zero at about -400 to -450 mV Ecal (pH 7.8). Within this range of redox potential aerobic respiration continues and fermentation is restricted even though microbial activity is clearly oxygen limited (unpublished). The experimental results show that for a given mean treatment time and fixed reaction temperature

279
t h e r e are v e r y h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s (P>.001 and c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s >0.9) b e t w e e n t h e r e s i d u a l s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 and redox p o t e n t i a l . A f t e r t r e a t m e n t a t 15C f o r 2 days and 7 d a y s , 35C f o r 2 days and 50C for 7 d a y s , t h e r e s i d u a l odour was i n o f f e n s i v e (0 t o 0.5 r a t i n g ) with the DO at 0.1% of s a t u r a t i o n and redox p o t e n t i a l about 0 mV Ecal (pH 7.8). I t increased t o very f a i n t l y o f f e n s i v e ( r a t i n g 1) w i t h t h e redox p o t e n t i a l h e l d a t about - 1 0 0 t o 150 mV and t o f a i n t l y o f f e n s i v e (rating 2) at about -300 mV. The r e s i d u a l , r e a d i l y - f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e c o n t e n t p o s t u l a t e d above as the d i f f e r e n c e between the a c t u a l BOD5 and i t s m i n i m a l v a l u e a f t e r p r o l o n g e d t r e a t m e n t , i s a l s o a f f e c t e d by o x y g e n l i m i t a t i o n . Again very h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s ( c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s > 0.8) were o b t a i n e d i n t h e four s e r i e s of low redox e x p e r i m e n t s . When oxygen was l i m i t i n g the r e s i d u a l , r e a d i l y - f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e c o n c e n t r a t i o n increased from the v a l u e s expected for each t r e a t m e n t t i m e and t e m p e r a t u r e when oxygen was unlimited ( e q u a t i o n s 4 and 5 ) , t o a b o u t 9.0 g / 1 a t -500 mV. CONCLUSIONS The optimum d e s i g n p a r a m e t e r s f o r a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t must be those which s e l e c t for the most d e s i r a b l e mixture of microbes and metabolic a c t i v i t y t h a t brings about a degree of d e g r a d a t i o n so t h a t t h e t r e a t e d s l u r r y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s meet the treatment o b j e c t i v e s . The s e l e c t i o n of t h e most a p p r o p r i a t e mean t r e a t m e n t t i m e , r e a c t i o n temperature and d i s s o l v e d oxygen l e v e l t o be m a i n t a i n e d i n t h e a e r a t e d mixed l i q u o r r e q u i r e s a c l e a r d e f i n i t i o n of the treatment o b j e c t i v e s for each p a r t i c u l a r farm e n t e r p r i s e . These are the maximum a c c e p t a b l e r e s i d u a l s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5, t o i n d i c a t e potential odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s , and t h e maximum a c c e p t a b l e r e s i d u a l , r e a d i l y - f e r m e n t a b l e s u b s t r a t e , t o i n d i c a t e the p o t e n t i a l for odour r e g e n e r a t i o n . I t must be d e c i d e d whether or n o t n i t r a t e i s d e s i r a b l e in the t r e a t e d s l u r r y t o further delay odour regeneration. In some c a s e s lower c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of BOD5 may be r e q u i r e d b e c a u s e of w a t e r c o n t r o l o b j e c t i v e s . M a n u r i a l v a l u e o f s l u r r y n i t r o g e n may a l s o n e e d consideration. The e q u a t i o n s , developed from the model based on Honod k i n e t i c s and the a d d i t i o n a l e q u a t i o n s , developed e m p i r i c a l l y t o d e s c r i b e t h e e f f e c t s of oxygen l i m i t a t i o n on a e r o b i c treatment of piggery s l u r r y , w i l l provide t h i s information a s t h e m o s t s u i t a b l e mean t r e a t m e n t t i m e , reaction temperature, and DO l e v e l . S e l e c t i o n of the most appropriate s e t of equations and t h e i r s o l u t i o n can be v e r y l a b o r i o u s but l e n d s i t s e l f t o computer programmed s e l e c t i o n . A program u s i n g t h e o r i g i n a l m o d e l (21) t o d e s i g n a s y s t e m w i t h a m a j o r o b j e c t i v e of heat recovery has been developed. It consists of a q u e s t i o n a i r e t o d e f i n e t h e t r e a t m e n t o b j e c t i v e s , t h e a p p r o p r i a t e e q u a t i o n s from t h e model a r e t h e n s e l e c t e d by t h e program, c a l c u l a t e d and b o t h a g r a p h i c a l and t a b u l a r 4.

280
p r i n t out of s u i t a b l e c o n d i t i o n s p r e s e n t e d . t h a t an e x p a n d e d program w i l l b e w r i t t e n w h i c h a l l the additional equations. I t i s hoped incorporates

REFERENCES (1) (2) (3) BELL, R.G. ( 1 9 7 0 ) . F a t t y a c i d c o n t e n t as a measure of t h e odour p o t e n t i a l of s t o r e d l i q u i d p o u l t r y manure. Poultry Science 49, 1126-1129. SOBEL, A.T. ( 1 9 7 2 ) . O l f a c t o r y measurements of animal manure o d o r s . T r a n s a c t i o n s of t h e American S o c i e t y of A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r s 15 ( 4 ) , 6 9 6 - 6 9 9 . HASHIMOTO, A.G. ( 1 9 7 4 ) . Aeration of poultry waste for o d o r and n i t r o g e n c o n t r o l . T r a n s a c t i o n of the American S o c i e t y of A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r s , 17, 9 7 8 982. COLE, C.A., BARTLETT, H.D., BUCKNER, D.H. & YOUNKIN, D.E. ( 1 9 7 6 ) . Efficacy o f c e r t a i n c h e m i c a l and b i o l o g i c a l compounds f o r c o n t r o l o f odor from a n a e r o b i c swine manure. J o u r n a l o f Animal S c i e n c e 4 2 , 1 - 7 . WELSH, F.W., SCHULTE, D . D . , KROEKER, E . J . & LAPP, H.M. (1977). The e f f e c t o f a n a e r o b i c d i g e s t i o n upon s w i n e manure o d o u r s . Canadian A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r i n g 1 9 , 122-126. BARTH, C . L . , H I L L , D . T . & POLKOWSKI, L . B . ( 1 9 7 4 ) . C o r r e l a t i n g o d o r i n t e n s i t y i n d e x and o d o r o u s c o m p o n e n t s in s t o r e d d a i r y manure. Transaction of the American S o c i e t y o f A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r s 17 ( 4 ) , 7 4 2 - 7 4 4 . SHAEFER, J . ( 1 9 7 7 ) . S a m p l i n g , c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n and a n a l y s i s of malodours. A g r i c u l t u r e and E n v i r o n m e n t 3 , 121-128. SPOELSTRA, S.F. ( 1 9 7 7 ) . S i m p l e p h e n o l s and i n d o l e s i n anaerobically stored piggery wastes. Journal of the S c i e n c e o f Food and A g r i c u l t u r e 2 8 , 4 1 5 - 4 2 3 . KOWALEWSKY, H . H . , SCHEV, R. & VETTER, H. ( 1 9 8 0 ) . M e a s u r e m e n t o f o d o u r e m i s s i o n s and immissions. E f f l u e n t s from L i v e s t o c k , A p p l i e d S c i e n c e P u b l i s h e r s 609-626. WILLIAMS, A.G. ( 1 9 8 4 ) . I n d i c a t o r s of piggery s l u r r y odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s . A g r i c u l t u r a l Wastes 1 0 , 1 5 - 3 6 . THACKER, F . E . & EVANS, M.R. ( 1 9 8 5 ) . BOD 5 , TOA and odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s . W o r k s h o p 'Odour p r e v e n t i o n and o d o u r c o n t r o l o f o r g a n i c s l u d g e s and livestock farming'. EEC/FAO, S i l s o e , U . K . , 1 5 - 1 9 A p r i l , 1 9 8 5 . HISSETT, R., EVANS, M.R. & BAINES, S. ( 1 9 7 5 ) . The u s e of respirometric methods for assessing the biodegradabi1ity of different components of agricultural wastes. P r o g r e s s i n Water T e c h n o l o g y , V o l . 7 , No. 2 , 1 3 - 2 1 . MONOD, J . ( 1 9 4 9 ) . The g r o w t h o f b a c t e r i a l c u l t u r e s . Am. R e v . M i c r o b i o l o g y 3 , 3 7 1 - 3 9 4 . EVANS, M.R., HISSETT, R., SMITH, M.P.W., ELLAM, D.F. B A I N E S , S . & WOODS, J . L . (1979). Effect of

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7) (8) (9)

(10) (11)

(12)

(13) (14)

281
(15) m i c r o o r g a n i s m r e s i d e n c e t i m e on a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t of piggery w a s t e . A g r i c . Wastes 1, 6 7 - 8 5 . EVANS, H.R., DEANS, E.A., HISSETT, R., SMITH, M.P.W., SVOBODA, I . F . & THACKER, F.E. ( 1 9 8 3 ) . The e f f e c t of temperature and r e s i d e n c e time on aerobic treatment of piggery s l u r r y - degradation of carbonaceous compounds. A g r i c . Wastes 5 , 2 5 - 3 6 . WILLIAMS, A.G. ( 1 9 8 1 ) . The b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of odours emanating from p i g g e r y s l u r r y . Ph.D. t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of Glasgow. OWENS, J.D., EVANS, M.R., THACKER, F.E., HISSETT, R. & BAINES, S. ( 1 9 7 3 ) . A e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t of p i g g e r y waste. Water Research, 7, 1745-1766. DOWNING, A.L., PAINTER, H.A. & KNOWLES, G. ( 1 9 6 4 ) . N i t r i f i c a t i o n in the a c t i v a t e d - s l u d g e p r o c e s s . J. Proc. I n s t . Sew. P u r i f . Part 130, 1 3 0 - 1 5 3 . SMITH, M.P.W. & EVANS, M.R. ( 1 9 8 2 ) . The e f f e c t s of low d i s s o l v e d o x y g e n t e n s i o n d u r i n g t h e a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t of p i g g e r y s l u r r y in c o m p l e t e l y mixed reactors. J o u r n a l of A p p l i e d B a c t e r i o l o g y 5 3 , 1 1 7 126. JOHNSTONE, D.W.M. (1984). Oxygen requirements, energy consumption and sludge production in extended a e r a t i o n plants. Water P o l l u t . Control 8 3 , 100-115. EVANS, M.R., SVOBODA, I.F. & BAINES, S. ( 1 9 8 2 ) . Heat from a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t of p i g g e r y s l u r r y . J. A g r i c . Engng. Res. 27, 4 5 - 5 0 .

(16) (17) (18) (19)

(20) (21)

JOINT SESSION : OTHER ASPECTS OF MEASURING ODOURS

Identification of volatile headspace from animal slurries

components

in

Odours at water reclamation works

BOD,., TOA and odour offensiveness Dust in livestock odours buildings as a carrier of

Dust concentrations in pig buildings Large-scale biogas plants in Hungary Anaerobic digestion to control odours The bio-gas project in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) The bio-gas project in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) firBt results of five full scale plants Farm experiments of anaerobic control odours from slurry digestion to

Use of methanogenic fermentation to upgrade farm animal and slaughterhouse wastes Latest chemical slurry handling methods

284
IDENTIFICATION OF VOLATILE COMPONENTS IN HEADSPACE FROM ANIMAL SLURRIES E. M. Odam, Jane M. J. Page, M. G. Townsend and J. P. G. Wilkins Agricultural Science Service, Tolworth Laboratory Ministry of Agriculture, fisheries and Food

Summary The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is involved in assessing a range of techniques for the measurement of odours arising from agricultural practices. We report here analytical results obtained from the collection of headspace slurries using Tenax GC. Samples were thermally desorbed and analysed by capillary column gas chromatography using a range of detectors. Identification of some of the components has been achieved using gas chromatographymass spectrometry and the most abundant odorous compounds were shown to contain sulphur. Quantitative techniques for the measurement of the odorous components are being established and will be applied to a range of air and slurry samples.

INTRODUCTION The increase in the number of complaints in the UK resulting from agricultural odours has coincided with both changes to intensive animal husbandry methods, and increased urbanisation. Legislation in this field is likely to result in stricter controls, and thus the role of the agricultural advisory service in relation to reducing odour nuisance will become more important to the agricultural industry. In order to carry out this role effectively there will be a need to have available methods to monitor the changes and to be able to quantify the improvements in air quality. Methods have been developed to characterise odours according to strength (l) and offensiveness (2) using experienced panellists. Measures of offensiveness are necessarily subjective and odour strength (threshold dilution) will depend upon the odour threshold value as well as the concentration. For routine assessment these methods incur the cost of panel time and the problems inherent in the transport and storage of samples. A measure of the total organic material present in slurries can be obtained by determining chemical oxygen demand (COD) or biological oxygen demand (BOD) (3) and the latter measure is used by Water Authorities in relation to the pollution of water courses where oxygen tension in the water is a prime concern. In studies to evaluate aerobic digestion as a means of odour reduction, the dissolved volatile fatty acids are a useful measure of the potential odour nuisance (2).

285

c
;

IK

^x

*>-< >-<

>

Fig 1. A C E G

Apparatus for collection of headspace volatiles from slurr

Large O-rlng tap. Small O-ring tap. B Olasa funnel. Tenax tube. D Reduction joint. pr F E s c r e w c a p F 2L Pyrex glass screw top bottle containing 1L slurry.

286

Fig 2. A C E G I K U 0 Q

Apparatus for the deaorption of volatilee from Tenax.

Splitter valve B Septum purge valve Toggle valve D Cold trap F $"-1/16" Reduction union Tenax tube H Tenax Desorption heater J Septum holder Septum 0.2 mm l.d. transfer line GC injector N 0.3 mm l.d. capillary 0.2 mm l.d capillary 1/16" low dead volume union tee p Glass Insert Helium

287
The response of vertebrates to olfactory stimulation is affected by previous experience but behaviour can be specifically affected by odours (pheromones) (k). The olfactory system has been shown to detect specific components within complex mixtures and analytical chemistry techniques have been used to identify these active components (5)- We have assessed the application of these methods to the problems of agricultural odours in an attempt to develop techniques applicable to both slurries and air samples. The identification of the odorous components might allow specific treatment methods to be developed. In addition, the designation of a range of indicator compounds might be useful in practice for monitoring abatement of odour nuisances. 2. METHODS Collection of Slurry During the study, samples of slurry were obtained from several sources. Both pig and cow slurry samples were collected from holding tankB and on-line at units operating anaerobic digestion systems for bio-gas production. In addition samples have been obtained from cores of slurry taken from a collection pit under a pig fattening unit. In all cases, a 10 litre bulked sample was divided into 1 litre aliquots in 2 litre glass bottles fitted with screwcaps and PTFE sealing discs (Corning Ltd., Stone, Staffs, UK) for transport to the laboratory. Collection of Volatiles The screw caps on the bottles of slurry were replaced by purpose made PTFE sampling heads (Production Techniques Ltd. Fleet, Hants.) fitted with two glass/PTFE valves ( J T Young Ltd, London W3) (Figure 1) and the samples maintained at l6C. The Tenax (0.3 g) used to collect the volatiles was packed in a 6 mm (o.d.) glass tube containing a plug of quartz wool. These units were pre-conditioned at 20C with a flow of nitrogen for l6 h Immediately prior to use and could be re-used several times. Headspace volatiles (500 ml) were collected by drawing gas with a constant flow (approximately 100 ml min - ^) sampling pump (DuPont model S200) through the Tenax whilst at the same time replacing it with an equal volume of water from the reservoir. Thermal desorption The Tenax adsorption tube was put into the desorption oven, connected to the cold trap through the injection port of the gas chromatograph (Figure 2) and thence to the analytical column via a T-connector. With the GC at ambient temperature and the valves (C^, C2) open the system was back-flushed with helium (9 ml min-^-) to remove air and water from the Tenax and maintain a flow of helium (1 ml min"^) through the analytical column. Valves Ci and Cg were closed and valves C3 and C4 were opened to provide a gas flow of 6 ml min~l through the Tenax and the cold trap which consists of a coil of approximately U0 cm deactivated, but uncoated, flexible silica capillary (0.3 mm, i.d.). The desorption oven was constructed from a central brass core and the electrical heating controlled by a calibrated variable transformer. A temperature of 270C was obtained in 10 minutes and this was maintained for a further 35 minutes. Following desorption the valves C3 and C I 4 . were closed, C^ was opened and after stabilisation of the gas flow through the analytical column the dewar flask of liquid nitrogen was removed.

Peak height

MJMydLLi^^
30 40

50

I60

\XJ4JL_AJLW^AI~^>*^*^"
Fig 3 50 60 40 Time (mint) G C profile of volatlles fron A) undigested and B) digested slurry analysed on a polar coluwi with FID. 30

289
Gas Chromatography During these studies the component profiles were obtained using two analytical GC systems in conjunction with two types of detectors. 1. Erba model 416O (Erba Science (UK) Ltd, Swindon, Wilts) with a sub-ambient attachment was fitted with a 25m BP1 flexible silica capillary column (SGE Ltd, Milton Keynes, Bucks.). Following 10 minutes at 10C the column oven was temperature programmed at 3C min" 1 up to 150C. Erba model U200 was fitted with a 25m BP20 flexible silica capillary column (SGE Ltd). Following 10 minutes at 50C the column oven was temperature programmed at 3C m i n - 1 up to 200C. In both systems the flow of helium carrier gas through the columns was 0.7-0.8 ml min~l, with a septum purge of 0.5 ml min~l and a split valve flow of U-U.5 ml min - 1 . The injection ports were maintained at 260C and the detector ovens at 2l0oC. The detector employed was either a flame ionisation or a nitrogen-specific NPDkO thermionic detector (Erba Science (UK) Ltd) and the output was recorded on a HP 3390 integrator (Hewlett Packard Ltd, Wokingham, UK). Studies involving mass spectral identifications were carried out using a VG 7035 coupled to a Dani gas chromatograph (VG Analytical, Manchester). Modifications were made to the analytical system as the high vacuum of the mass spectrometer was incompatible with the air vent system normally employed between the cold trap and the analytical column. Consequently, the flow of gas through the Tenax during thermal desorption was reduced to 3 ml min - ^. RESULTS During initial studies in which pig slurry samples were collected in plastic bottles and nylon tubing was used to transfer the volatiles onto Tenax, it was found that blanks were variable due to contamination of the analytical system and that there was a loss of Borne polar compounds (p-cresol, indole, skatole). The development of the collection system (Figure 1) and the use of Chromsep'tI,1 red septa (Chrompack UK Ltd, London) together with septum purge (Figure 2) has eliminated these problems. When a second Tenax tube was connected in series during the collection of 1 litre of headspace, the only material recovered from the second tube had a very short GC retention time. In comparison with the total sample this was a relatively small amount of material and 0.3 g Tenax is considered sufficient for the routine recovery of the material from 500 ml headspace. Capillary gas chromatography allows the analysis of complex mixtures of compounds to be carried out. However, the analysis time per sample is inherently long in order to obtain high resolution of the components, and this limits the throughput of samples. Slurry samples are biotic and therefore subject to continuing changes which are reflected by alteration in the composition of the headspace volatiles, especially in regard to the ratio of the components. In addition, the concentration of this complex mixture by adsorption onto Tenax and the subsequent thermal desorption may lead to artefacts. It is therefore difficult 3.

2.

Peak height

[JJL_J -ujJiLJ
-r10 20 30

iliJL_
40
to

J
Fig 4.

JUj^.
10

rJ^
T 20 Time (minj) -f30 "X40

G C profile of volatlles from undigested slurry analysed on a non-polar column with A) FID and B) NPD.

291

I*
Tim* (mini)

hJ
15 35

20

100-

8040-

20-

20

J. J U A

LJ

30

Tim* (tnin)
Fig S. TIC tract of headspace voletlles obtained froa undigested slurry analysed on a non-polar column. b methanethlol e dimethyl sulphide h 2-butanone k benzene n toluene q oclmene t dodecane c pentane f 2-ppopanethiol 1 hexane 1 heptane r dimethyl trlsulphlde u aliphatic hydrocarbon

carbon dioxide carbon d1sulphide 2-aathylpentane hexene dlwthyl dlsulphlde silicone undecene

o octane

292
to obtain replicate samples in order to assess the reproducibility of the analytical method. In practice differences in the GC profiles, of either the slurry stored at -20C or headspace volatiles adsorbed on Tenax and stored in a sealed tube at ambient temperature for 2 days or at -20C for up to 2 months, vere acceptable. Examination of the effect of temperature (220C-270C) and the total heating time (20-1*5 minutes) on the thermal desorption process led us to adopt 270C for 1 5 minutes as the optimum conditions for further studies. Assessment of the commercially available desorption systems in which there is "flash heating" of the sample, have shown that significant losses of some important compounds (p-cresol, indole) occur on the surfaces of the metal connectors and sample transfer lines. It was to overcome these problems that the all silica system (Figure 2) was developed. Odour assessment (2) indicated the odour from an undigested sample of cow slurry was greater than that of an equivalent sample subjected to anaerobic digestion. The GC profiles (Figure 3) obtained from comparable samples using FID were complex and some of the components overloaded the analytical system. The reduction in odour following digestion should be paralleled by significant changes in some components of the headspace volatiles. The digested sample contained more components with retention time (Ej) less than Ik minutes. The total area of the peaks between 6 and 8 minutes and that at 13.5 minutes were greater in the digested slurry but the components at 15.1 and 30.9 minutes were smaller. With the non-polar column the undigested sample appeared to contain more of the less retained components (ftp < 10 minutes) but these were overloaded and difficult to quantify. Four peaks with Rrp 11.1, 15.1*, 23.4 and Ul.3 minutes did show a decrease in the digested slurry and need to be identified and their contribution to the odour determined. The complexity of the profiles was reduced (Figure h) when the response of a specific nitrogen detector was compared with that of a flame ionisation detector using samples analysed under the same chromatographic conditions. It was apparent that there was a marked decrease in the number of peaks detected and their peak heights were also greatly reduced. If these compounds had been nitrogen containing, then the peak size should have increased when the HPD-UO was used as the detector. It would appear that there are few nitrogen-containing compounds in the mixture and the components with ftp of lk.2 and 16.1 minutes are the only ones thought to contain nitrogen. The NPD-1*0 detector will react to organic molecules other than those containing nitrogen, if the concentration is high enough, and this would account for the response at Rp 31.6, 35-8 and 40.9 minutes where the equivalent FID trace indicates column overloading for two of these components. A similar situation was found when the polar column was used for the comparison and in this case the only nitrogen response occurred with a component at ftp 5^.5 minutes, which was probably skatole. In order to characterise the components further, mass spectral analysis was carried out. When head space volatiles from undigested cow slurry were analysed on a non-polar column the results (Figure 5) demonstrated the presence of several sulphur containing compounds methanethiol, carbon disulphide, dimethyl sulphide, 2-propanethiol,

100

80

i i

60

40

20-

h h h

10 F1g 6. a d g 3 m

20

30 30 Time (mln)

40

50

60

TIC trace of headspace volatlles from pig slurry analysed on a polar column. b e h k n benzene 3-octanone silicone phenol skatole c toluene f 1-methylethenylbenzene 1 octanol 1 p-cresol o phthalate

carbon d1sulphide 3-methylth1ophen dimethyl trlsulphlde methyl naphthalene p-ethylcresol

Peak height

-1^

r
10
rri

20

30 Time (min)

40

50

60

Fig 7.

Trace of sulphur containing volatlles 1n pig slurry headspace. b carbon dlsulphlde d dimethyl disulphide

a hydrogen sulphide c dimethyl sulphide

295
dimethyl d i s u l p h l d e and dimethyl t r i s u l p h i d e : a l l of t h e s e compounds a r e highly odorous. Analysis of a s i m i l a r sample u s i n g t h e p o l a r column (Figure 3) shoved t h a t t h e r e vas poor r e s o l u t i o n of t h e components e l u t e d during t h e f i r s t 10 minutes and t h e mass s p e c t r a l s t u d i e s Indicated t h e sulphur c o n t a i n i n g components t o he p r e s e n t In t h i s f r a c t i o n . Phenol, e t h y l phenol, p - c r e s o l , indole and s k a t o l e could only he i d e n t i f i e d a t t h e low concentrations present by o b t a i n i n g a r e c o n s t r u c t e d ion chromatogram from t h e f u l l - s c a n a c q u i s i t i o n d a t a . A s i m i l a r study v i t h p i g s l u r r y using a non-polar column showed a d d i t i o n a l sulphur containing components 2-methylthiopropane, methylthlocyclopentane (or methylthiohutane), 1-methylthiopentane (or 3-hexanethiol) dimethyl t e t r a s u l p h i d e and an i n d i c a t i o n of t h e presence of dimethyl hexasulphlde. Although a n a l y s i s with t h e polar column again r e s u l t e d i n a l a r g e number of compounds being e l u t e d within t h e f i r s t 10 minutes (Figure 6 ) , examination of t h e compounds r e t a i n e d by t h e column i d e n t i f i e d t h e presence of 3-methylthiophen and phenol, p - c r e s o l , p - e t h y l p h e n o l and s k a t o l e : indole was detected from t h e r e c o n s t r u c t e d ion chromatogram. A number of hydrocarbons were i d e n t i f i e d and t h e s i l i c o n e s and p h t h a l a t e probably arose as contaminants. A r e c e n t r e p o r t (6) recommended t h e use of Tenax/molecular sieve for t h e c o l l e c t i o n of v o l a t i l e sulphur compounds. This technique has been a p p l i e d t o head space v o l a t i l e s from p i g s l u r r y u s i n g a packed column (Supelpak S) and a Tracor flame photometric sulphur d e t e c t o r (Figure 7 ) . S i g n i f i c a n t amounts of hydrogen s u l p h i d e and dimethyl sulphide were found and t h i s method w i l l be a p p l i e d t o f u r t h e r samples of headspace v o l a t i l e s and a i r in an attempt t o quantify compounds c o n t r i b u t i n g s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o odour problems. REFERENCES 1. BEDBOROUGH, D. R. F. H. H. Valentin Stevenage, 17-29(1980). Odour Control - A Concise Guide ( E d i t o r s , and A. A. N o r t h ) , Warren Spring Laboratory, slurry odour

2. 3.

WILLIAMS, A. G. (1984). I n d i c a t o r s of piggery offenslveness, A g r i c u l t u r a l Wastes 10 : 15-36.

WILLIAMS, A. G. (1983). Organic a c i d s , biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand i n t h e s o l u b l e f r a c t i o n of piggery s l u r r y . J.Sci.Food Agric. 3k : 212-220. ALB0NE, E. S. (1981*). Mammalian Semiochemlstry - t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n of chemical s i g n a l s between mammals. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. BAILEY, S . , BUNYAN, P. J . and PAGE, J . M. J . (1980). V a r i a t i o n i n t h e l e v e l s of some components of t h e v o l a t i l e f r a c t i o n of u r i n e of c a p t i v e red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e s t a t e of t h e animals. Chemical Signals : V e r t e b r a t e s and Aquatic I n v e r t e b r a t e s (ed. D. Mil;ller-Schwarze and R. M. S i l v e r s t e i n ) Plenum P r e s s , New York, 391-U03. STEUDLER, P. A., and KIJOWSKI, W. (1981*). Determination of reduced sulphur gases i n a i r by s o l i d adsorbent p r e c o n c e n t r a t i o n and gas chromatography. Anal.Chem. 56 : 1^32-lU36.

k. 5.

6.

296
ODOURS AT WATER RECLAMATION WORKS G.L. JOHNSON Regional Laboratory Severn-Trent Water Authority

SUMMARY The procedure used within the Severn-Trent Water Authority for the analysis of odorous emissions is discussed. This method is based on the sampling of malodorous air on Carbotrap D-l a graphitised carbon black adsorbent followed by solvent extraction of the enriched organic compounds. Interfering non-odorous hydrocarbons also present in the atmosphere are removed by adsorption column chromatography with silica gel. Identification of the enriched odourintensive compounds relies on high resolution gas chromatography mass spectroscopy in the electron impact mode. The use of gas chromatography in conjunction with odour port detection is discussed as a valuable aid to this identification and interpretation of the findings. Results obtained with the procedure are presented and areas requiring further attention are noted.

INTRODUCTION Water Reclamation Works by their very nature can, at times be the source of unpleasant odorous emission. The odour-intensive compounds (osmogenes) which make up these emissions are believed to arise mainly as the decomposition products of carbohydrates and proteins. The breakdown of this waste material proceeds by aerobic and anaerobic processes at various stages of the treatment plant. Atmospheric pollution of this nature frequently results in complaints from members of the public either resident, or perhaps employed in the vicinity of such works. In order to confirm or deny that a reclamation works is responsible for a particular nuisance and, if possible to identify the causal agents it was decided that the Authority should have the capability of analysing for odorous and other polluting constituents of the atmosphere. This paper describes the progress made towards this objective and summarises the experience gained with a procedure in use. There are two principle approaches available for the analytical classification of odorous emissions:1. Olfactometric or sensory methods which provide information relating to the human response to odours. Physico-chemical methods, the ultimate aim of which is to determine the exact qualitative and quantitative composition of an odorous emission.

2.

Both of these techniques yield valuable information about odour emissions but neither can be considered perfect.

297
OLFACTOMETRIC METHODS From a hardware orientated viewpoint the olfactometric or sensory methods have the considerable advantage that the detection system being utilised, the human nose, is both extremely sensitive and selective for osmogenes. Certain odour-intensive compounds can be detected and even identified by the human sense of odour perception at concentrations which would be difficult if not impossible to match with physico-chemical detectors. Furthermore, this detection/indentification of trace level osmogenes can take place even in the presence of a large excess of a nonodorous compound, a condition which would create serious problems for the most sophisticated analytical instrumentation. The major disadvantage of these sensory techniques arise because the detection of osmogenes by odour perception is an extremely subjective sensation which varies with the individual, A review of appropriate literature reveals for example that values quoted for odour perception thresholds of pure substances are not exact and in many cases vary considerably. (1) In a similar fashion any individual may find difficulty in reaching agreement with others on the description of odour sensations invoked by specific compounds. These areas of disagreement and uncertainty are compounded by the rather restrictive and subjective vocabulary used for the description of odours. Thus, to obtain useful data from olfactometric methods it is essential to utilise the services of either highly skilled and experienced personnel such as in the case of perfumers or panels of judges of sufficient numbers to ensure their collective opinions are statistically valid. PHYSICO-CHEMICAL METHODS In contrast to olfactometric methods this approach attempts to identify and quantitate the constituent osmogenes present in an odorous emission rather than directly assess the quality or intensity of the emission itself. Odours of natural origin are commonly complex mixtures of these osmogenes present at very low concentration. Analysis of such emission by instrumental techniques therefore necessitates a concentration step and a highly efficient separation as prerequisites to identification. Even before considering the details of such an analytical method it is apparent that it is unlikely to be simple or straightforward in application. It is therefore expedient to ask what particular advantages such information would provide to justify the effort involved. The objectives of using these techniques, as already stated, are to determine the composition of the odorous emission with respect to the odourintensive species, the osmogenes. Once these key components can be identified and quantified it should be possible to obtain reproducible and objective, rather than subjective, assessment of odour quality and intensity. Furthermore the effect of any modification to plant operation can be monitored and meaningful conclusions can be derived as to the result, if any, these changes may have on the concentration of the key osmogenes which make up the odorous emission. This was summarised succinctly by Hagenguth et al in stating that "Information on the type and formation of odour-intensive substances in the course of operation of a purification plant is vital before any purposeful attack on odours and any statement about its effectiveness is possible". (2) Physico-chemical techniques which aim to provide this information are not, however, free from some inherent disadvantages in addition to any technical difficulties which may arise in their implementation. In order to recognise these drawbacks it is essential to consider first the methodology involved.

298
METHOD The development of an analytical method for determining the composition of malodorous emissions was initiated within Severn Trent in 1979. At this time three separate, but complementary tasks were identified as requiring development to achieve this goal:1. The sampling and concentration of organic compounds in the atmosphere. The transfer of the concentrated sample to analytical instrumentation and its subsequent separations. The detection and identification of the separated components.

2. 3.

The method chosen for sampling and enrichment of the organic compounds which make up an odorous emission is based on the use of solid adsorbents. Although the choice of adsorbent used has changed and is still periodically reviewed the basic sampling technique remains the same. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach compared for example, with cryogenic trapping are reviewed extensively in the literature. Our own earliest attempts at analysing odorous emissions were based to some extent on the work of Baley fi Viney.O) This utilised Tenax GC as the adsorbent material with thermal desorption of the enriched organic compounds. In our own case the eluted sample was transferred directly to the injection port of a gas chromatograph equipped with a high resolution glass capillary column and was coupled to a mass spectrometer-data system. This inital work in conjunction with other research carried out in parallel which involved subjecting a variety of pure standards to the same methodology, allowed the following conclusions to be derived. 1. Modification of the conditions used for thermal desorption, including a change of adsorbent, were unable to fully resolve the problems of artifact formation and either adsorptive or catalytic loss of thermo-labile species at trace levels. The only odour-intensive species conclusively identified in the odorous emission of water reclamation works were dimethyl -disulphide, -trisulphide and -tetrasulphide. In addition to any osmogenes present in the sampled emission there exists a complex mixture of non-polar, mainly aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon compound which make up the bulk of the sample. Even when utilising high resolution glass capillary columns the chromatographic separation is incomplete. This invariably results in the odour-intensive species co-eluting with more abundant non-odorous hydrocarbons and effectively prevents mass-spectroscopic identification of the osmogenes.

2.

3.

Subsequent work indicated that the sulphur containing species that had been identified and in particular dimethyl trisulphide were important contributors to the odour under investigation. However, the results taken as a whole were considered to be less than satisfactory. In addition to the possibility of sample corruption, the utilisation of thermal desorption made the problem of interferences from non-odorous

299
hydrocarbons difficult to overcome. The difficulties associated with thermal desorption techniques have been solved by pursuing with some minor modification the methods developed by Hangartner and the work carried out subsequently by Hagenguth, Teichmann, Zeman and Koch (4,2,5,6). This approach is based on the solvent extraction of the solid adsorbent followed by fractionation of the extract using adsorption column chromatography with silica gel. The logic underlying this procedure is based on the following assumptions. If a compound has the property we refer to as odour then it is probable that some functional group or groups within the molecular structure confer this property either directly or indirectly. It is also probable that the presence of these functional groups within the molecular structure may impart to the compound a degree of polarity which can be exploited by the procedure outlined. Elution of the adsorption column with a non-polar solvent such as pentane removes the bulk of the interfering hydrocarbons and subsequent elution with a more polar solvent such as diethyl ether yield the odour intensive compounds. Following a concentration step the analysis of this polar eluate using computer assisted high resolution gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) allows identification and quantitation of the enriched osmogenes. Valuable information can also be obtained using high resolution gas chromatography in conjunction with selective detectors for sulphur and nitrogen containing compounds. Alternatively, ammonia - chemical ionisation - mass spectroscopy is proposed by Zeman and Koch to provide profiles for polar compounds containing sulphur, nitrogen or oxygen.(6) These auxiliary techniques have the benefit that due to their inherent selectivity they can operate on the unfractionated solvent extract. This information can be utilised for routine monitoring, quantitation or as a powerful aid to the electron impact mass - spectroscopic identification of odour - intensive species. INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS AND DISADVANTAGES OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL METHODS The problems encountered using thermal desorption techniques indicate more fundamental disadvantages inherent in the physico-chemical methods described. In the conclusions derived from our initial work it was stated that due to interfering hydrocarbon it was impossible to identify, using GC-MS the odour-intensive species. In reality the situation is more complex in that no information obtained by GC-MS at this time could even indicate whether osmogenes were present. Even using the improved methodology described it is important to appreciate that neither mass-spectroscopy or any of the auxiliary techniques outlined above actually determine odours. Computer assisted GC-MS is recognised as an extremely powerful technique for the identification of organic compounds. However, any conclusions concerning the odour properties of the identified species relies on a data-base of separate information. These data may be in the form of the experience of the workers involved, available literature or in principle at least an integrated computer based system. To derive meaningful conclusion concerning a malodorous emission using these physico-chemical techniques it is necessary to employ an evaluation procedure at least similar to the following:1. The odour-intensive species which make up the emission under investigation must be identified. The resulting table of osmogenes should be as complete as possible. It is, of course vital that no important osmogenes are overlooked at this stage.

300
2. The identified osmogenes must be quantified, at least approximately to determine their relative abundance within the complex mixture. For each of the identified osmogenes the relationship between the compounds actual abundance in the mixture and the concentration that represents the odour perception threshold must be evaluated. This is essential to give some indication of the osmogenes perceived intensity and assist in pinpointing which of the odour-intensive species are most significant. Finally the odour sensation invoked by the original emission is compared to those obtained for the pure compounds identified or mixtures of these substances.

3.

4.

Obviously this procedure involves a lengthy and complex follow-up to the original analysis. Furthermore it is important to note that although the analytical results are objective measurements, the appraisal of their effectiveness in describing the emission, ultimately relies on subjective comparisons of odour sensation. This final observation could be interpreted as a weakness in the method in having to resort to subjective odour comparisons. An alternative viewpoint however is that the most effective information can be derived by utilising a combination of olfactometric and physico-chemical techniques. ALTERNATIVE APPROACH Within Severn Trent a modified version of this procedure is utilised for the analysis of malodorous emissions. The most significant difference in this approach compared to those already discussed is the use of high resolution gas chromatography in combination with olfactory detection. This method also combines physico-chemical and olfactometric or sensory techniques but in an alternative manner. Utilisation of gas chromatography combined with odour detection is not a new concept and has been employed fairly commonly for the analysis of food aromas, essential oils and other fragrances. The technique is equally applicable to environmental problems and is used frequently in this laboratory for the analysis of atmospheric emissions and taste and odours in water. Three important benefits accrue from this approach in the context of odour emission analysis. 1. It provides a detection system for gas chromatography which is both sensitive and selective for odour intensive compounds. The use of retention data in combination with odour detection provides a valuable aid to the computer assisted GC-MS analysis of osmogenes. Experience in use of the technique frequently allows quite accurate predictions to be made on sample composition based on retention data and odour quality. Not all odour-intensive species present in a sample will necessarily be perceived at the odour port. This is for the obvious reason that positive odour detection is dependent on the osmogene being present in the mixture at concentrations in excess of the threshold for odour perception. Thus without any definite information on identity, abundance, or odour threshold

2.

3.

301
concentrations, the technique offers an empirical system for the detection of the most significant osmogenes. As stated earlier the procedure for this analysis is based largely on the methods developed by Hangartner.(4) Figure 1 outlines the scheme utilised for sample processing and analysis. In addition to the detection system already discussed the only other significant difference in this work is the choice of adsorbent which is Carbotrap D-l a graphitised carbon black (GCB). The use of GCB's in environmental analysis is well documented in the literature both as column materials and adsorbants.(7,8) Initial work within Severn Trent confirmed the claimed superiority of GCB's compared with adsorbents based on porous polymers such as Tenax GC. No evaluation of the relative merits of GCB's and activated carbons have been made at this laboratory but tests with the latter are likely in the future. ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE Sampling and Extraction;Sampling is accomplished by drawing malodorous air (0.5 - 2m ) through glass tubes (150mm x 4mm I.D) packed with 250mg Carbotrap D - l (Supelco Inc) using oil free vacuum pumps. Sample tubes are prepared for use by thermal desorption at 320C in a stream of purified helium. Desorption of the enriched organic compounds is by micro-Soxhlet extraction with diethyl ether. Extracts are concentrated to 1ml by micro-Kuderna concentrator. All further concentration of extracts or eluate fractions is by means of gradual evaporation at room temperature from blood sedimentation tubes. These glass tubes are 10cm long, graduated in mm, approximately 2.6 - 2.7mm I.D, 0.55ml volume. ADSORPTION COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY This procedure utilises a glass column (130mm x 5mn) wet packed with approximately 2gm of Silica Gel (Merck 7754 BDH Chemicals) prepared by heating to 500C 20C for two hours, cooled and deactivated to 1.0% w/w water. Solvents are n-pentane (glass distilled, Rathburn Chemicals Ltd) and diethyl ether (Distol, Fisons). GAS CHROMATOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS Flame ionisation. Flame Photometric and Thermionic Detection use a Perkin - Elmer Sigma 1 gas chromatograph, equipped with an S.G.E oncolumn injector. The column used was a 25 metre x 0.31mm I.D. fused silica WCOT capillary coated with BP-1 (S.G.E), a methyl silicone. Olfactometric detection was originally carried out using the same gas chromatograph with a splitting device based on the design by Etzweiler and Neuner-Jehle attached to a locally produced odour port.(9) This approach has been superseded with a Hewlett-Packard 5890A chromatograph equipped with flame ionisation and a low volume (3.5mm ) thermal conductivity detector, an extension of which allows odour perception. GC-MS analysis used a Finnigan 4000 quadrupole EI/CI mass spectrometer. Electron Impact spectra were recorded continually using an Incos Nova 4 data system. Ion source temperature was 250C and the ionisation energy 70 eV. All gas chromatography was carried out with pressure regulated helium carrier gas and the following temperature programme 15C for 2 mins and then 5C to 250C.

302
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results obtained with this procedure are similar to those previously reported in the literature by Hangartner, Hagenguth et al and Zeman et al (4,2,5,6). The major exception, being the complete lack of alkylated pyrazines and alkylated thiophenes. These odour-intensive compounds arise from the thermal decomposition of proteins and sulphur containing amino acids. They also develop in the thermally induced reaction of proteins with carbohydrates (Maillard reaction). The authors indicated above have demonstrated that these compounds are invariably produced during the thermal treatment of sludge, a process which is not used in this Authority. There appears to be little point in presenting a long list of the various odour-intensive compounds identified by this procedure. Such an approach would simply duplicate, to a large extent, the findings of other workers. The advantages claimed for this technique which utilises high resolution gas chromatography with olfactory detection is that it offers an identification aid and an indication of the most significant osmogenes identified. It is therefore intended to present the results obtained from a variety of sampling locations within the Severn-Trent Water Authority. In each case the odour emission under investigation was judged to be an intense source for that particular water reclamation works. The compounds subsequently identified are believed to be the key components present in that particular emission. Case 1 Sample Location: Odour Sensation: Problem Identified: Downwind of tanks used for storing surplus activated sludge. Intense, sharp, choking, perspiration like. Excessive retention time.

Osmogenes detected by G.C/odour port and identified by GC-MS. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Propanoic acid 2-Methyl propanoic acid Butanoic acid 3-Methyl butanoic acid 2-methyl butanoic acid Pentanoic acid Methyl Phenol (cresol)

Other compounds identified by GC-MS - not detectable at odour port. 1. 2. 3. Dimethyl disulphide Dimethyl trisulphide Various higher fatty acids

The malodorous emission in this case appears to be dominated by volatile fatty acids and cresol. It is interesting to note in passing that cresol is one of the few odour-intensive species found in almost all odorous emission so far encountered. This osmogene is usually present in sufficient quantities to be clearly detectable of the odour port. Cresol and phenol (only found occasionally) is reported to be formed by the decomposition of lignin.

303
Case 2 Sample Location: Odour Sensation: Problem Identified: Double filtration unit treating dairy waste (exclusively) Strong, earthy, musty, "potato-bin" Probably due to excessive bacterial/algal film on media surface

Osmogenes detected by GC/odour port and identified by GC-MS. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Methoxy benzene (Anisole) 2-Isopropyl-3-methoxy pyrazine Phenol Bicyclo (2.2.1) Heptan-2-one, l,7,7,trimethyl (Camphor) Bicyclo (2.2.1) Heptan-2-one, l,3,3,trimethyl (Fenchone) Methyl benzonitrile Bicyclo (2.2.1) Heptan-2-ol, 1,2,7,7 tetramethyl (2-methyl isoborneol) Dichloro-methyl anisole Trichloroanisole Trans-l,10-dimethyl-tran8-9-Decalol (Geosmin)

This sample is included because it is an interesting departure from the odorous emissions more commonly associated with water reclamation works. Aqueous dairy waste sampled at this time and subsequently analysed by the same techniques demonstrated that none of the listed osmogenes were present. The odorous emission was thus a function of the filtration unit and its mode of operation rather than directly originating from the effluent being treated. The key osmogenes are believed to be:1. 2. 3. 4. 2-isopropyl methoxy pyrazine - "potato-bin" odour 2-methyl isoborneol - earthy Trichloroanisole - musty Geosmin - earthy

Of secondary importance as judged by gas chromatography with olfactory detection are:1. 2. 3. 4. Anisole Fenchone Methyl benzonitrile Dichloro methyl anisole pungent slighty earthy almonds musty

Geosmin, 2-Methyl isoborneol (MIB) and 2-isopropyl methoxy pyrazine are known to be produced by various types of actinomycete cultures (10-15). Geosmin and MIB are saturated tertiary alcohols and resist oxidation. The steric configuration of the hydroxyl and methyl groups in both compounds are believed to interact with receptors in the nose, imparting their characteristic earthy odour (16). The four compounds itemised as the key osmogenes in this odorous emission have extremely low odour threshold concentrations. Their occasional occurence in drinking water can lead to widespread complaints and are routinely monitored for within this Authority.

304
Case 3 Sample Location: Odour Sensation: Problem Identified: Press House - processing undigested sludge after polyelectrolyte conditioning Unpleasant faecal, rotting cabbage Lack of digestion facilities, design

Osmogenes detected by G.C/odour port and identified by GC-MS. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Dimethyl disulphide Dimethyl trisulphide Dimethyl tetrasulphide Methyl phenol (cresol) Indole Methyl Indole (probably skatole) 3-cyclohexene-l-methanol, a,a,4-Trimethyl(s) (a-Terpineol) *

Other compounds detected only by GC-MS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Butanoic acid 3-Methyl butanoic acid 2-Methyl butanoic acid Pentanoic acid Hexanoic acid Octanoic acid Decanoic acid

* This compound and a variety of less abundant but similar species are believed to arise due to essential oils present in the polyelectolyte conditioner.

In this case the key osmogenes appear to be the polymeric sulphides. Dimethyltrisulphide alone is judged to be very similar to the odour sensation perceived on-site. Significant contributions are also made by cresol and indole which are usually found in such malodorous emissions. Methyl indole was detected on this occasion though surprisingly this is an exception rather than typical of such analyses. CONCLUSIONS A variety of compounds have been identified as key contributers to certain malodorous emissions originating from water reclamation works. The most important are considered to be polymeric sulphides, volatile fatty acids, indole and cresol. The utilisation of high resolution gas chromatography in conjuction with olfactory detection is identified as a valuable aid to the analytical procedure.

305
The only disadvantage inherent in the technique is that it takes no account of possible synergistic interaction between the osmogenes that constitute an odorous emission. Technical limitations which may be improved upon are thought to be:~ ) loss of volatile ) components

1. 2.

Sampling of the malodorous air Subsequent sample processing

The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Severn-Trent Water Authority. Malodorous emission sampled on solid adsorbent

Solvent extraction with Diethyl Ether or Dichloromethane

Concentration

Concentrated extract Osmogenes + Interfering Hydrocarbons

Pentane eluate Interferences

GC-Nitrogen GC-Sulphur Detection Figure 1. A n a l y t i c a l Procedure

306
REFERENCES (1) National Institute for Water Supply, Netherlands. Compilation of odour threshold values in air and water; Central Institute for Nutrition and Food Research TNO Netherlands June 1977. (2) HAGENGUTH, H., TEICHMANN, H., ZEMAN, A., Geruchsmessungen in kommunalen Klaranlagen, Massenspektrometrische Identifizierung geruchsaktiver Verbindungen. (3) BAILEY, J.C., and VINEY, N.J., The Analysis of Process Gases for Malodorous Compounds. Warren Spring Laboratory, Department of Industry, Stevenage. (4) HANGARTNER, M., Sampling and Analysis of Odorous Compounds in Water Treatment Plants. Institute of Hygiene and Ergonomics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. (5) ZEMAN, A., and HAGENGUTH, H., (1980) Identification of Odorous Compounds in Emissions from Municipal Sewage Plants by GC-MS. German Armed Forces University, Munich, West Germany. (6) ZEMAN, A., and KOCH, K., (1981) Determination of Odorous Volatiles in Air using Chromatographic Profiles, German Armed Forces University, Munich, D-8014 Neubiberg (G.F.R.) (7) BRONER, F., CICCIOLI, P., and DI NARDO, F., Use of Graphitized Carbon Black in Environmental Analysis. Laboratorio sull'Inquinamento Atmosferico del C.N.R. Via Montorio Romano, 3600131 Rome (Italy). (8) CICCIOLI, P., BERTONI, G., BRANCALEONI, E., FRATARCANGELI, R., and BRUNER, F., Evaluation of Organic Pollutants in the Open Air and Atmospheres in Industrial Sites using Graphitized Carbon Black Traps and Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric Analysis with Specific Detectors. Laboratorio sull'Inquinamento Atmosferico del C.N.R. ViaMontorio Romano, 36-00131 Rome (Italy). (9) ETZWEILER and NEUNER-JEHLE: Chromatographia 6, 1973, 503. (10) GERBER, N. N., and LECHEVALIER, H.A., "Geosmin, an Earthy-Smelling Substance Isolated from Actinomycetes", Appl.Microbiol 13:935(1965). (11) SAFFERMAN, R.S., ROSEN, A.A., "Earthy-Smelling Substance from a Blue-Green Algae"Environ, Sci, Technol. Ii429 (1967). (12) MEDSKER, L.L., JENKINS, D., "Odorous Compounds in Natural Waters. An Earthy-Smelling Compound Associated with Blue-Green Algae and Actinomycetes". Environ, Sci. Technol 2(6)t461-464 (1968). (13) ROSEN, A. A., MASHNI, C.I., "Recent Development in the Chemistry of Odour in Watert The Cause of Earthy/Musty Odour", Water Treat. Exam 19(2):106-119 (1970). (14) MEDSKER, L. L., JENKINS, D., "Odorous Compounds in Natural Waters. 2-exo-Hydroxy-2-methylbornane,the Major Odorous Compound Produced by Several Actinomycetes". Environ. Sci Technol 3(5):476-477 (1969). (15) GERBER, N. N., "Three Highly Odorous Metabolites from an Actinomycete. 2-Isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, Methylisoborneol, and Geosmin", J Chem Ecol 3:475 (1977). (16) TSUCHIYA, Y., "The Basic Research on the Causes of Odours in Water. Studies on Odorous Materials in the Water of the Pond of Tairo at Miyakejima", Tokyo Toritsu Eisei Kenkyusho Kenkyu Nempo 25:445 (1974).

307

BOD^. TOA and o d o u r

offensiveness

F.E.THACKER a n d H.R.EVANS. M i c r o b i o l o g y D e p a r t m e n t r T h e West of S c o t l a n d A g r i c u l t u r a l C o l l e g e , A u c h i n c r u i v e , A y r KA6 5 H W , S c o t l a n d , U K ABSTRACT S u p e r n a t a n t BODc a n d TOA c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f p i g g e r y s l u r r y p r o v i d e u s e f u l i n d i c a t o r s of p o t e n t i a l o d o u r n u i s a n c e . T h e y have very h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t l o g a r i t h m i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e o d o u r o f f e n s i v e n e s s a s a s s e s s e d by a p a n e l of p e o p l e . S p e c i f i c o d o r a n t s i n c l u d i n g VFA, i n d o l e s a n d p h e n o l s a r e shown t o b e s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s r e l i a b l e . INTRODUCTION P u b l i c a w a r e n e s s of a g r i c u l t u r a l o d o u r s and resulting c o m p l a i n t s have i n c r e a s e d in r e c e n t y e a r s ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 & 6). Most c o m p l a i n t s a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i n t e n s i v e a n i m a l h o u s i n g and t h e i r a s s o c i a t e d s l u r r y m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m s . The l a r g e s t number of c o m p l a i n t s a r i s e from a n i m a l w a s t e s managed i n s l u r r y s y s t e m s , and of t h e s e c o m p l a i n t s , m o s t occur during s l u r r y spreading operations. Slurry systems i n v o l v e t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f f a e c e s and u r i n e w i t h a d d e d w a t e r in v a r y i n g q u a n t i t i e s and s u b s e q u e n t s t o r a g e . The s l u r r y r e m a i n s a n a e r o b i c t h r o u g h o u t s t o r a g e u n d e r s l a t s and i n o u t s i d e s t o r e s . A n a e r o b i c b a c t e r i a b r e a k down much of t h e o r i g i n a l o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l t o s o l u b l e and v o l a t i l e c o m p o u n d s and s o t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n o f l a r g e a m o u n t s o f o f f e n s i v e o d o u r compounds o c c u r s . These a r e r e l e a s e d if t h e s l u r r y is a g i t a t e d o r s p r e a d o n t o l a n d (3 & 7 ) . Odour n u i s a n c e i s a c o m b i n a t i o n o f o d o u r i n t e n s i t y and o d o u r q u a l i t y . Odour i n t e n s i t y i s a f u n c t i o n of t h e number of t i m e s o d o u r o u s a i r must be d i l u t e d w i t h o d o u r - f r e e a i r ( i . e . a d i l u t i o n f a c t o r ) f o r 50% o f a n o d o u r p a n e l t o j u s t d e t e c t t h e o d o u r (8 & 9 ) . It c a n a l s o be m e a s u r e d by u s i n g a p a n e l of p e o p l e and a s c a l e of i n t e n s i t y on w h i c h t h e s t r e n g t h of t h e odour i s i n d i c a t e d ( 1 6 ) . L a r g e p a n e l s of people a r e needed for t h e s e measurements, s i n c e d i f f e r e n c e s i n s e n s i t i v i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s a r e known t o b e l a r g e ( 1 0 , 1 1 & 12). The c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of s e v e r a l s p e c i f i c o d o r a n t s f o u n d i n piggery slurry,in p a r t i c u l a r v o l a t i l e f a t t y acids,hydrogen s u l p h i d e , a m m o n i a and p - c r e s o l , have b e e n c o r r e l a t e d w i t h odour i n t e n s i t y (13,14,15 & 16).

308

Odour q u a l i t y depends not only on t h e s e n s i t i v i t y of the human nose but a l s o on t h e s u b j e c t i v i t y of the human language to be able t o d e s c r i b e the odour (17). Some chemical c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of slurry have been compared to the slurry odour. A r e l a t i o n s h i p between v o l a t i l e f a t t y acids (VFA) and odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s of p o u l t r y manure was d e s c r i b e d by Bell (18). Sobel (19) used a panel of people to a s s e s s t h e odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s of p o u l t r y manure and found a correlation between t o t a l solids and offensiveness. Williams (5) found t h a t odour i n t e n s i t y measurements by liquid d i l u t i o n of piggery slurry were not successful, and concluded that the offensiveness of odours rather than t h e i r i n t e n s i t y was t h e b e s t i n d i c a t o r of odour nuisance.Odour offensiveness i s a supra-threshold assessment and depends on the human sense of smell. Since complaints r e s u l t from the d e t e c t i o n of o f f e n s i v e compounds by the human nose and b e c a u s e of t h e p r o b l e m s of q u a n t i f y i n g a l l t h e odour compounds in slurry by a n a l y t i c a l methods, i t i s desirable to use the human nose for odour offensiveness measurements. This presents problems, since there i s a large variation of s e n s i t i v i t y to o d o r a n t s and some people a r e anosmic (10 & 20). The w e l l b e i n g of a p e r s o n a l s o a f f e c t s t h e i r response to odours (2). Odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s i s a s u b j e c t i v e d e t e r m i n a t i o n and r e q u i r e s as many people as p o s s i b l e to a s s e s s an odour and minimise v a r i a t i o n s in sensitivity. The problems of r o u t i n e o l f a c t o r y odour assessments are that they are not only very time consuming, but also very subjective. S p o e l s t r a (21) l i s t e d c r i t e r i a for p o t e n t i a l l y s u i t a b l e odour i n d i c a t o r s and concluded t h a t VFA and p - c r e s o l were the best odour indicators of piggery slurry. Williams (5) examined the s u p e r n a t a n t 5 day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), t o t a l organic a c i d s (TOA), VFA and t o t a l i n d o l e s and p h e n o l s (TIP) as i n d i c a t o r s of t h e p o t e n t i a l offensiveness of odours emanating from samples of raw and aerobically t r e a t e d slurry of pig excreta. I t was found t h a t the s u p e r n a t a n t BODc could provide a useful indicator. I t exhibited a highly significant correlation ( c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t = 0.86) with odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s (Equation 1). I t a l s o l a r g e l y f u l f i l l e d the c r i t e r i a for an indicator of odour noted by Spoelstra (21). Odour offensiveness = 0.947 LogSupernatant BOD5 + 3.16 (1) VFA and TIP a l s o c o r r e l a t e d with odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s , but t h e i r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a t t h e lowest o f f e n s i v e n e s s r a t i n g s were too scattered for the correlating equations to provide sufficiently reliable indicators. This r e p o r t i n c l u d e s d a t a which covers a wider range of slurry treatments giving a more even d i s t r i b u t i o n of samples over the offensiveness scale than those used by Williams(5).

309
A n improved model using supernatant BODE and a similar model using T O A as indicators of potential odour offensiveness is presented.

METHODS The Slurry Raw slurry was collected and prepared by diluting fresh excreta from fattening pigs with tap water to a standard concentration of t o t a l solids (TS) 30 g/1 and chemical oxygen demand (COD) 38 g / 1 . The methods of e x c r e t a collection, the animal d i e t s , and the slurry composition were described previously (22 & 23).

Treated Slurry
Samples of treated slurry were obtained from laboratoryscale continuous culture reactors (3 & 15 l i t r e s ) during a series of treatments studying the effects on residual slurry quality of mean treatment time, reaction temperature, dissolved oxygen level and p H value (27). Some were also collected from a 2.4m3 p i l o t plant which was operating at 35C and 7 day residence time and with dissolved oxygen saturation of 0 to 40%. The p i l o t plant was t r e a t i n g separated stored piggery slurry (TS 21 g/1; C O D 26 g/1). Measurement S_f B i o c h e m i c a l Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Supernatant B O D g was measured by the standard method of the American Public Health Association (24), but using the EIL dissolved oxygen probe model no. 8012 to measure oxygen concentration (Electronic Instruments Ltd., Richmond, Surrey,UK.) To ensure that a suitable variety of microorganisms were present in the B O D bottles a seed was considered necessary. The seed was prepared from a daily-fed continuous culture, previously commissioned to steady s t a t e conditions. The culture was initiated with a 500 ml mixture of garden soil, mixed liquor from one of the laboratory treatment reactors and tap water in a one l i t r e f l a s k . The c u l t u r e was continually aerated and agitated at 20C through a sintered g l a s s tube. Any water l o s s , from the c u l t u r e , by evaporation was made good by additiion of tap water. Seed was prepared by diluting a sample of culture with an equal volume of water and allowing i t to s e t t l e for 5 minutes. 2 ml of the top liquor were then added to each l i t r e of B O D dilution water.

310
Samples of raw and treated slurry were centrifuged at 10,000g for 20 minutes at 10C, as described by Hissett et al (25), to prepare the supernatants for the measurement of BOD. Determination of Total Organic Acids (TOA) TOA were determined, in the supernatant prepared as described by Hissett et al (25), by the method of Montgomery et al (26). The organic acids were esterified with acidified ethylene glycol. The esters were then reacted with hydroxylamine and the hydroxamic acids thus formed were converted to their ferric complexes and their concentrations were determined by optical density measurements at 500u. Gas-liquid Chromatography of VFA and TIP A Pye series 104 gas-liquid chromatograph (Pye Unicam Ltd.,Cambridge,UK.) and a Packard model 439 gas-liquid chromatograph (Packard Instrument Ltd.,Reading,UK.) with a Hewlett Packard HP 3390A reporting integrator (Hewlett Packard Ltd.,Cheshire,UK.) were used. Determination of VFA were by direct injection of acidified supernatant samples into a 2.15 m long by 4mm ID packed column of 5% FFAP on Cnromosorb G.AW.DMCS 80/100 mesh. Determination of TIP were by direct injection of solvent extracts, of whole samples (30), into a 25 m long by 0.23 mm ID capillary column of WCOT fused Silica with liquid phase CP sil 5CB (United Technologies Packard,Reading,UK.). Odour Assessment The odour panel consisted of 21 College Staff who had previous odour panel experience (5) and 5 staff who were later recruited and whose performances at slurry odour assessments were judged to be similar to those of the original panellists. The method of assessment of odour offensiveness was based on that of Sobel (19). 20 ml samples of slurry were tranferred to 60 ml black glass bottles as described by Williams (5). These were handed to panellists in their own offices or laboratories where they were already accustomed to the background odour and were least hindered by interruption. The panellists were shown a copy of Table I and asked to assign the odour offensiveness of each sample to a value between 0 and 5. They were specifically requested not to consider the samples relative strength compared with the other samples.

311
RESULTS Odour offensiveness. Supernatant BOD^ and TOA Thirty seven samples of raw piggery slurry (TS 29 g/1, standard deviation 3 g/1; COD 37 g/1, standard deviation 3 g/1) were assayed over a period of 3 years. These had offensiveness values of between 2.3 and 3.5 with a mean value of 2.9(definitely offensive) and a standard deviation of 0.41. Fifty samples of aerobically-treated piggery slurry were assayed during the same period of time. The offensiveness values ranged from 0 to 2.7(inoffensive to definitely offensive). The actual value was influenced by the mean treatment time, reaction temperature and aeration rate (27). The data were analysed, by regression analysis for odour offensiveness with supernatant BODc and TOA concentrations of the samples of raw and treated slurry. There were very highly significant (P=0.001) logarithmic relationships b e t w e e n odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s and s u p e r n a t a n t BODr concentration (Equation 2) and odour offensiveness and TOA concentration (Equation 3). The regression equations for odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s d e v e l o p e d from 76 s a m p l e s w i t h supernatant BODc and 61 samples with TOA have correlation coefficients of 0.96 and 0.93 respectively. Scatter diagrams and the regression lines are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Odour offensiveness = 1.453 LogSupernatant BOD 5 + 2.320 Odour offensiveness = 2.378 LogTOA + 2.327 (2) (3)

Supernatant BOD,- and TOA concentrations are expressed as g/1. The mean variance of the offensiveness from the regression line and the standard error of the supernatant BOD 5 relationship are 0.325 and 0.050 and for the TOA relationship are 0.399 and 0.119 respectively. Odour Offensiveness. VFA and TIP The average concentrations of individual and total VFA and of TIP in samples of raw piggery slurry are presented in Table II. During continuous culture treatment VFA and TIP are oxidised (27). In the absence of VFA the odour offensiveness of the slurry varied between 0 and 2.4(inoffensive to faintly offensive). Regression analysis of odour offensiveness with VFA (64 samples) and TIP (41 samples) of the samples of raw and treated slurry gave correlation coefficients of only 0.60

312
and 0.50 r e s p e c t i v e l y . S c a t t e r d i a g r a m s of VFA (Figure 3) a n d T I P ( F i g u r e 4) c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a g a i n s t odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s of s l u r r y a r e i l l u s t r a t e d . The r e l a t i o n s h i p of VFA c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o o d o u r o f f e n s i v e n e s s of s l u r r y was o n l y s l i g h t l y i m p r o v e d by s u b t r a c t i o n of t h e a c e t i c a c i d c o n c e n t r a t i o n from t h e t o t a l VFA. S u p e r n a t a n t BOD^- and TOA The a v e r a g e s u p e r n a t a n t BODr of raw p i g g e r y s l u r r y was 2.349 g / 1 ( s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n 0.470) and t h a t of TOA was 1.533 g / 1 ( s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n 0.213). The mean r a t i o of TOA t o s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 was 0.666 ( s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n 0.105). During c o n t i n u o u s c u l t u r e t r e a t m e n t s u p e r n a t a n t BODj and TOA w e r e o x i d i s e d . T h e r a t i o of TOA t o s u p e r n a t a n t BODg of t h e raw p i g g e r y s l u r r y i s r e v e r s e d a s t h e d e g r e e of a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t i n c r e a s e s . T h i s i s due t o a r e s i d u a l of o r g a n i c a c i d s w h i c h a r e n o t o x i d i s e d i n t h e s u p e r n a t a n t BODe t e s t a n d a l s o do n o t h a v e an o f f e n s i v e o d o u r . As t h e s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 t e n d s t o w a r d z e r o t h e TOA c o n c e n t r a t i o n t e n d s toward 0.216 g / 1 . The d a t a w e r e a n a l y s e d by r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s , for s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 c o n c e n t r a t i o n w i t h TOA c o n c e n t r a t i o n of t h e samples of raw and t r e a t e d s l u r r y . There was a very h i g h l y signficant (p = 0 . 0 0 1 ) l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p between s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 and TOA ( F i g u r e 6 ) . The r e g r e s s i o n equation f o r s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 w i t h T O A ( E q u a t i o n 4) developed from 70 samples had a c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t of 0.97. TOA = 0.631Supernatant BOD5 + 0.216 (4)

Both TOA and s u p e r n a t a n t BOD? c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a r e e x p r e s s e d as g / 1 . The mean v a r i a n c e of t h e TOA c o n c e n t r a t i o n from t h e r e g r e s s i o n l i n e i s 0.208 and t h e s t a n d a r d e r r o r of t h e s l o p e 0.020. DISCUSSION S u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 of p i g g e r y s l u r r y f u l f i l l s most of t h e c r i t e r i a n o t e d by S p o e l s t r a ( 2 1 ) , f o r an o d o u r i n d i c a t o r . l t can be used t o a s s e s s t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of a e r o b i c t r e a t m e n t f o r o d o u r c o n t r o l ( 2 7 ) . The a d v a n t a g e of t h e s u p e r n a t a n t BODr a s an i n d i c a t o r of o d o u r o f f e n s i v e n e s s i s t h a t i t i n c l u d e s a m e a s u r e of m o s t , i f n o t a l l , of t h e o r g a n i c o d o r a n t s such a s t h e v o l a t i l e f a t t y a c i d s , i n d o l e s , p h e n o l s , mercaptans e t c , a l t h o u g h t h e s e compounds only c o m p r i s e a s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n of t h e o x i d i s a b l e m a t e r i a l . The o t h e r compounds o x i d i s e d in t h e BOD t e s t a r e r e a d i l y f e r m e n t a b l e and h e n c e many a r e l i k e l y t o g i v e r i s e t o o d o r a n t s i n anaerobic conditions. T h e r e f o r e , t h e s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 p r o v i d e s a r e l i a b l e i n d i c a t o r of b o t h t h e a c t u a l o d o u r

313 offensiveness of the slurry and i t s p o t e n t i a l to increase in odour nuisance during storage (Equation 2). The use of t h e BOD5 t e s t t o provide an i n d i c a t o r of t h e p o t e n t i a l odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s of a s l u r r y i s s u b j e c t t o similar problems as those encountered when the BOD5 i s used as an i n d i c a t o r of water p o l l u t i o n . The t e s t r e q u i r e s 5 days incubation. The reproducibility depends on a consistent respiration rate with a given mixture of s u b s t r a t e s , despite a v a r i a t i o n in the v a r i e t y of s p e c i e s , t h e i r r e l a t i v e proportions and numbers of active microbial c e l l s present. The s u p e r n a t a n t BODc, however, i s l e s s s u b j e c t t o d i l u t i o n e r r o r s than the BOD5 of the whole suspension of s l u r r y . These problems of a n a l y t i c a l e r r o r are l e s s e n e d by t h e logarithmic r e l a t i o n s h i p with odour offensiveness. Thus, o f f e n s i v e s l u r r i e s with odour r a t i n g s above 2.5 e x h i b i t a s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 in the range of 1 to 8 g / 1 . With f a i n t l y offensive s l u r r i e s (rating 2) the supernatant BOD5 i s about 600 m g / 1 . T h i s v a l u e f a l l s t o below 50 mg/1 as t h e offensiveness f a l l s below 0.5. The TOA t e s t d e t e r m i n e s organic a c i d s which are a major group of f e r m e n t a b l e compounds, many of which a l s o contribute to the supernatant BOD5. Thus, despite the more s p e c i f i c n a t u r e of the TOA d e t e r m i n a t i o n and t h a t i t does not i n c l u d e any measure of some of the most o f f e n s i v e odorants such as p h e n o l s , i n d o l e s , mercaptans, e t c . , i t s t i l l p r o v i d e s a useful i n d i c a t o r of odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s . The d i s a d v a n t a g e of a s l i g h t l y l e s s good c o r r e l a t i o n (Equation 3) than the s u p e r n a t a n t BOD5 c o r r e l a t i o n i s compensated by the fact t h a t the TOA determination offers a d i s t i n c t advantage of speed, since the t e s t only takes about one hour. A few r e c a l c i t r a n t compounds e.g. humic a c i d s , are a l s o measured in t h e TOA d e t e r m i n a t i o n . Thus, when s l u r r y i s a e r a t e d t h e r e i s a rapid f a l l in TOA s i m i l a r to t h a t of the s u p e r n a t a n t BODc, but t h e r e i s a minimum c o n c e n t r a t i o n of a b o u t 0.213 g / 1 TOA which r e m a i n s unoxidised.There i s some suggestion that t h i s value varies from farm t o farm (31). Nevertheless, this close correlation between TOA and supernatant BOD5 concentration means that a s i m i l a r l y very highly significant c o r r e l a t i o n e x i s t s between TOA and odour offensiveness. Specific odorants such as VFA, TIP or individual compounds can be used to i n d i c a t e odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s but t h e i r absence does not give any information about the p o s s i b l i t y of o t h e r odorants being p r e s e n t . The o f f e n s i v e odours of treated s l u r r y , which did not contain the 6 VFA, 3 phenols, 2 indoles or ammonia, were due to compounds not determined in t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s . There are a l a r g e number of o t h e r odorants c i t e d with very low t h r e s h o l d l e v e l s (28 & 29) which could be r e s p o n s i b l e for t h i s odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s . Since the odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s t e s t i s so s u b j e c t i v e any indicator must have a very highly s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p in order to provide a useful indicator of offensive odours.

314
The relationship of VFA and offensiveness showed that at the concentrations were too reliable indicators of odour shown by Williams (5). REFERENCES 1 JONES, K.B.C. 1977 to odour control. 245-258. U.K. problems and Legislation relating Agriculture and Environment 3 (2,3) TIP concentrations with odour the lower offensiveness ratings scattered to provide sufficient offensiveness. This was also

2PEAKIN, F.H. 1979 Odours in agricultural practice, prevention and control. Agricultural Research Council, London. 3BAINES, S., McLARTY, R. & MILLS, P. 1980 Odour in agriculture. The Scottish Agricultural Colleges publication No 57, May 1980. 4BATTERSBY, S.A. Institute of Environmental Health Offices Agricultural Odour Survey. April 1980 - March 1981. MAFF Farm Odour Group paper FOG/14 (unpublished). 5WILLIAMS, A.G. 1981 The biological control of odours emanating from piggery slurry. PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1981. 6WILLIAMS, A.G. 1984 Indicators of piggery slurry odour offensiveness. Agricultural Wastes ^0_, 15-36. 7SKARP, S.U. 1975 Manure gases and air currents in livestock, housing. In managing livestock wastes. Proc 3rd Ins. Symp. Livestock Wastes. Am. Soc. Agric. Engrs., St. Joseph, Michigan. 8MANNEBECK, H. 1974 A practical portable method of odour measurement in processing and management of Agricultural waste. Proceedings 1974 Cornell Agr. Waste Management Conference 291-294. Rouchester, N.Y. 9KLARENBEEK, J.V. 1982 Odour agriculture; Reduction of Presented at the meeting of Animal Hygiene, Hannover-D, 10MONCRIEFF, R.W. 1967 Hill, London. measurements in Dutch odours in animal production. FAO held at Department of May 11-12 1982.

The chemical senses p. 142, Leonard

11DRAVNIEKS, A. & JAKE, F. 1980 Odour threshold measurements by dynamic olfactometry; significant operational variables. J. Air Poll. Control Assoc. 30 (12) 1284-1289.

315
12 BEDBOROUGH, D.R. & TROTT, P.E. 1979 The sensory measurement of odours by dynamic dilution. Report No LR 299 (AP). Warren Springs Laboratories, Stevenage. 13 BARTH, C.L., HILL, D.T. & POLKOWSKI, L.B. 1974 Correlating odour intensity index and odorous components in stored dairy manure. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 17(4), 742-4, 747. 14 SCHAEFER, J. 1977 Sampling, characterisation and analysis of malodours. Agriculture and Environment, 3(2,3), 121-128. 15 SCHAEFER, J. 1980 Development of instrumental methods for measuring odour levels in intensive livestock buildings. In: Effluents from Livestock (Gasser, J.K.R. (Ed.)). Applied Science Publishers, London pp 513-535. 16 KOWALEWSKY, H.H., SCHEV, R. & VETTER, H. 1980 Measurement of odour emissions and immissions. In: Effluents from Livestock (Gasser, J.K.R. (Ed)), Applied Science Publishers, London pp 609-626. 17 HARPER, R., BATESMITH, E.C. & LAND, D.G. 1968 Odour description and odour classification. J & A Churchill Ltd., London. 18 BELL, R.G. 1970 Fatty acid content as a measure of the odour potential of stored liquid poultry manure. Poultry Science, 49, 1126-9. 19 SOBEL, A.T. 1972 Olfactory measurement of animal manure odours. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. 15(4), 696-699 and 703. 20 AMOORE, J.E., VENSTROM, D. & DAVIS, A.R. 1968 Measurement of specific anosmia perceptual and motor skills 26, 143-164. 21 SPOELSTRA, S.F. (1980) Origin of objectionable odorous components in piggery wastes and the possibility of applying indicator components for studying odour development. Agriculture and Environments(3), 241-260. 22 OWENS, J.D., EVANS, M.R., THACKER, F.E., HISSETT, R. & BAINES S. 1973 Aerobic treatment of piggery waste. Water Research 7 1745-66. 23 EVANS, M.R., HISSETT, R., SMITH, M.P.W., THACKER, F.E. & WILLIAMS, A.G. (1980) Aerobic treatment of beef cattle and poultry waste compared with piggery waste. Agric. Wastes 2, 93-101.

316
24 APHA 1971 Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water 13th Edition. American Public Health Association Inc., New York. 25 HISSETT, R., EVANS, M.R. & BAINES, S. 1975 The use of respirometric methods for assessing the biodegradability of different components of agricultural wastes. Progress in Water Technology 7(2) 13-21. 26 MONTGOMERY, H.A.C., DYMOCK, J.F. & THOM, N.S. 1962 The rapid colourimetric determination of organic acids and their salts in sewage sludge liquor. Analyst 87, 949955. 27 BAINES, S. & EVANS, M.R. 1985 Aeration and odour control by heterotrophic and autotrophic aerobes. EEC/FAO, Silsoe, U.K. 15-19 April 1985. 28 SPOELSTRA, S.F. 1977 Simple phenols and indoles in anaerobically stored piggery wastes. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2j[, 415-423. 29 SPOELSTRA, S.F. 1979 Volatile fatty acids in anaerobically stored piggery wastes. Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science 2_7, 60-66. 30 Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1981 effluents. Phenols in waters and

31 Personal Communication with A.G. Williams, Farm Buildings Division, N.I.A.E., Silsoe, Bedford, U.K.

317
TABLE I Odour offenslveness ratings 0 1 2 3 4 5 Inoffensive Very faintly offensive Faintly offensive Definitely offensive Strongly offensive Very strongly offensive

The average concentrations of individual and total VFA and TIP in raw piggery slurry. VFA Acetic acid Propionic acid Iso-butyric acid Butyric acid Iso-valeric acids Valeric acid Total VFA 0.761 0.209 0.023 0.116 0.061 0.042 1.212 (.243) (.063) (.017) (.045) (.028) (.015) (.319) Total TIP 0.078 (0.072) Phenol p-cresol p-ethyl phenol Indole Skatole TIP 0.006 0.049 0.010 0.002 0.011 (.006) (.054) (.013) (.002) (.014)

concentration expressed as g litre standard deviation in brackets.

318
Fig. I Scatter diagram and regression line of supernatant B00_ and odour offensiveness rating.

.02

.Oil Supernatant BOD. g litre

Fig. 2

Scatter diagram and regression line of TOA and odour of fensiveness rat ing.

TOA g litre

319
Fig 3 Scatter diagram of UF A and odour offensiveness rating. * T

a
a
5o

o
oe

i i 2 k UFA g litre '

Fig 1|

1 6
rating.

S c a t t e r diagram o f TIP and odour o f f e n s i v e n e s s

0 0

1 5o
O On

o o e %
oo e

0 !

O.i

0.2 TIP g l i t r e " 1

0.3

320

Fig. 5

Scatter diagram and regression line of supernatant B0D_ and TOA

o>

Supernatant B0D_ g

litre

321
DUST IN L I V E S T O C K B U I L D I N G S AS A C A R R I E R OF O D O U R S J. H A R T U N G I n s t i t u t e for Animal H y g i e n e of the H a n n o v e r School of V e t e r i n a r y M e d i c i n e , B u n t e w e g 17p, 3 0 0 0 H a n n o v e r 7 1 , FRG

Summary The dust of animal h o u s e s o r i g i n ates m a i n l y from the feed ( 8 0 - 9 0 % ) , the b e d d i n g m a t e r i a l , the m a n u r e ( 2 - 8 % ) ,an d the a n i m a l s ( 2 - 1 2 % ) t h e m s e l v e s . It c o n s i s t s subs tant ical ly of o r g a n i c m a t t e r . The f a c t o r s d e t e r m i n i n g the amou nt o f dust in c o n f i n e m e n t s i n c l u d e animal a c t i v i t y , tern pera ture ,rel ative h u m i d i t y , v e n t i l a t i o n rate , s t o c k i n g densi ty a nd v o l u m e t r i c a i r - s p a c e per a n i m a l , f e e d i n g met hod, and n a ture of the f e e d . This dust orig i n a t i n g from var i ous s o u r c e s can carry g a s e s , v a p o u r s and o d o u r s , The ana lysi s of d u s t - b o r n e t r a c e g a s e s is usu ally done by sol vent e x t r a c t i o n f o l l o w e d by gas c h r o m a t o g r a p h y . At 1 east 60 comp o u n d s b e l o n g i n g to d i f f e r e n t ch emical g r o u p i ngs wer e i d e n t i f i e d in the dust from anima 1 h o u s e s . Vo lati le f atty acids and p h e n o l i c / i n d o l i c compo unds w e r e fo und to c ont r i b u t e m o s t l y to the s t r o n g , ty pical o d o u r of a nima 1 h o u s e s . Main c o m p o n e n t s in t h e s e g r o u p s are acet i c aci d and p - c r e s o l , r e s p e c t i v e l y . In t he dust from pig hou ses q u a l i t a t i v e l y and q u a n t i t a t i v e l y n e a r l y the same vol ati 1 e fatty acids and p h e n o l s are foun d than in th e ai r or i n the s l u r r y . One m 3 of the e x h a u s t air from a 500 hea d pig f a t t e n i n g unit can c o n t a i n d u s t - b o r n e 6.27 u g vo lati le fatty acids and 2.76 pg p h e n o l i c / i n d o l i c com poun d s . The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of o d o u r s on the d ust p a r t i c l e s se ems to be much g r e a t e r than in an equal vo lume of a i r . teri ng the dust from the e x h a u s t air can re d u c e the odo Fil mi ss i on from animal h o u s e s up to 6 5 % . An o t h e r way to ur e uce the d u s t - b o r n e odour e m i s s i o n is to avoid the re red e of in the animal h o u s e by wet feedi ng, v a c u u m c 1 eas i ng dust 1 ean or showeri ng .

INTRODUCTION Dust in a n i m a l h o u s e s is an a t m o s p h e r i c c o n t a m i n a n t of the e n v i r o n m e n t of the a n i m a l s ( 1 ) . It is an i m p o r t a n t c a r r i e r of m i c r o o r g a n i s m s ( 2 ) , ( 3 ) , ( 4 ) , and can i n f l u e n c e the p e r f o r m ance and h e a l t h of animal ( 5 ) , ( 6 ) , ( 7 ) , and man ( 8 ) , ( 9 ) , ( 1 0 ) . In a d d i t i o n the dust of animal h o u s e s was s u p p o s e d to play an essential role in the t r a n s p o r t of t r a c e gas and odour i n s i d e and in s p r e a d i n g of o d o r o u s g a s e s o u t s i d e of the animal h o u s e (11), (12), (13), (14). This paper r e p o r t s on the a s p e c t s of dust f o r m a t i o n in l i v e s t o c k b u i l d i n g s , the m a t e r i a l c o m p o s i t i o n of the d u s t , the

1.

322
e m i s s i o n of d u s t - b o r n e o d o u r a n t s like v o l a t i l e fatty acids ( V F A ) and s i m p l e p h e n o l s and i n d o l e s from p i g g e r i e s , the i m p o r t a n c e of p a r t i c l e - b o r n e o d o u r s , and the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of c o n trolling dust-borne odours. 2. O R I G I N , N A T U R E AND R E L E A S E OF THE DUST It i~i e s t i m a t e d that the dust Tn animal h o u s e s o r i g i n a t e s m a i n l y from the feed (15 ) , ( 1 6 ) , ( 1 7 ) , the b e d d i n g m a t e r i a l ( 1 8 ) , ( 1 9 ) , the m a n u r e (20) and the a n i m a l s t h e m s e l v e s ( 2 1 ) , ( 2 2 ) . R e l e v a n t v a l u e s are r a r e . T a b l e I shows that feed and b e d d i n g , when u s e d , are the p r e d o m i n a n t s o u r c e s of dust in pig and hen houses. Dust from animal h o u s e s consists m a i n l y of o r g a n i c m a t t e r ( 2 3 ) . The p r e f e r r e d t e c h n i q u e for i n v e s t i g a t i n g both the m a t e rial c o m p o s i t i o n of the dust and feed s t u f f is the W E E N D E R A n a l y s i s T e c h n i q u e ( 2 4 ) . T a b l e II shows the c o m p o s i t i o n of dust from pig and hen h o u s e s c o m p a r e d to the feed f e d . The d i f f e r ences in the p r o t e i n c o n t e n t b e t w e e n dust and feed s u p p o r t the o p i n i o n that an i m p o r t a n t part of the dust o r i g i n a t e s from f e a t h e r s , h a i r s , and skin c e l l s of the a n i m a l s . The r e l e a s e of the dust is c a u s e d by the a c t i v i t y of a n i m a l s or man or the f u n c t i o n of t e c h n i c a l e q u i p m e n t s in the animal h o u s e . F e e d i n g , p a r t i c u l a r l y dry f e e d i n g ( 2 5 ) , as well as b e d d i n g and c l e a n i n g a c t i v i t i e s , the use of d i f f e r e n t s y s t e m s of feed d i s t r i b u t i o n , m a n u r e removal and v e n t i l a t i o n (26) can i n c r e a s e the dust level in the air of animal h o u s e s c o n s i d e r ably ( 2 7 ) . F i g u r e 1 g i v e s an e x a m p l e of the r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n the amount of dust in the air and d i f f e r e n t a c t i v i t i e s based on v a l u e s as r e p o r t e d by CERMAK and ROSS (27) for p o u l t r y houses. In the c o u r s e of a day the dust level in animal h o u s e s v a r i e s c o n s i d e r a b l y . M o s t l y f e e d i n g i n c r e a s e s the dust c o n c e n t r a t i o n in the air as d e m o n s t r a t e d in F i g u r e 2 ( 2 2 ) . H o w e v e r , w i t h i n 30 to 120 min the " n o r m a l " b a c k g r o u n d level is r e a c h e d again ( 1 6 ) , ( 2 2 ) . The f i g u r e shows that even b e f o r e the feed is d i s t r i b u t e d , the a c t i v i t y of the a n i m a l s i n c r e a s e s the dust c o n c e n t r a t i o n in the air c o n s i d e r a b l y . T a b l e III shows the i n f l u e n c e of r e l . h u m i d i t y , pen v o l u m e , f e e d i n g s y s t e m and air f l o w on the number of dust p a r t i cles and w e i g h t of s e t t l e d dust in an e x p e r i m e n t a l p i g g e r y . T h e e s s e n t i a l i n f l u e n c e of animal a c t i v i t y on the f o r m a t i o n of dust is shown by the fact that s e l f - f e e d i n g r e s u l t s in s i g n i f i c a n t ly g r e a t e r a t m o s p h e r i c dust c o n c e n t r a t i o n ( p a r t i c l e s / v o l u m e of a i r ) than does f l o o r - f e e d i n g . H o w e v e r , a s i g n i f i c a n t l y g r e a t e r amount of s e t t l e d dust is a s s o c i a t e d with f l o o r f e e d i n g . P r o b ably, the s e l f - f e d p i g s spend much m o r e time e a t i n g than the f l o o r - f e d p i g s . The i n t e n s e a c t i v i t y of the pigs d u r i n g f l o o r f e e d i n g r e s u l t s in a great deal of v i s i b l e dust for only a p e riod of t i m e , w h i l e the s e l f - f e d pigs may play with the e x c e s s feed ( 2 8 ) , ( 1 7 ) . T h e s e s t u d i e s i n d i c a t e that the f a c t o r s d e t e r m i n i n g the amount of dust in c o n f i n e m e n t s i n c l u d e animal a c tivity, temperature, relative humidity, ventilation rate,stocking d e n s i t y and v o l u m e t r i c a i r - s p a c e per a n i m a l , f e e d i n g method, and n a t u r e of f e e d . T h i s dust o r i g i n a t i n g from v a r i o u s s o u r c e s can carry g a s e s , v a p o u r s and o d o u r s ( 7 ) .

323
3. DUST-BORNE TRACE GASES AND ODORANTS The analysis of dust-borne trace gases requires their 1solation from the dust p a r t i c l e s . Procedures for the isolation and c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of trace gases and odorants in the dust from pig houses are given by SCHAEFER et al. ( 2 9 ) , HAMMOND et al.(30) and TRAVIS and ELLIOTT ( 3 1 ) . A l c o h o l i c solvents were found to be effective for the extraction of volatile fatty acids and phenols from the dust of hen (32) and pig houses ( 3 3 ) , ( 3 4 ) . Today, gas c h r o m a t o g r a p h y is usually used for the separation and identification of the trace g a s e s . TablelV gives a literature review of compounds identified in the dust of pig houses. There are only very few reports on i n v e s t i g a t i o n s on the dust from hen houses ( 3 2 ) . Most of the odours coming from livestock production units are associated with the biological degradation of the animal wastes ( 3 5 ) , the feed and the body odour of the animals ( 1 ) . Volatile fatty acids and phenolic compounds were found to contribute mostly to the strong, typical odour of animal houses by the help of sensory evaluations parallel to the chemical analysis ( 2 9 ) , ( 3 0 ) . Table V gives q u a n t i t a t i v e values of volatile fatty acids and p h e n o l i c / i n d o l i c compounds found in the aerosol phase and in settled dust of p i g g e r i e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . The results from the aerosol phase c o i n c i d e , particularly as far as acetic acid is concerned. For the i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of the settled dust the coefficients of variation (CV) and the relative values {%) characterizing the p e r c e n t a g e of the single compounds as part of the total amount are quoted. The values are corrected with the dry matter content of the dust. Main components are acetic acid and p - c r e s o l , r e s p e c t i v e l y . Table VI compares results from air, dust and slurry investigations on VFA and phenol i c/i ndol i c compounds in piggeries. Relative values are used. When comparing the results derived from i n v e s t i g a t i o n s on dust, air or slurry it is necessary to use relative values because of the different d i m e n s i o n s , for experience shows that in spite of large q u a n t i t a t i v e d i f f e r ences between two samples within the group of carboxylic acids and within the group of p h e n o l i c / i n d o l i c compounds the p r o p o r tions of the components remain rather stable ( 3 6 ) . In the group of VFA acetic acid is the main component in air, dust, and slurry followed by propionic and butyric acid. The other three acids amount to less than 2 5 % . In the group of p h e n o l s / indoles p-cresol is the main component in the four cited inv e s t i g a t i o n s . However, it seems that straw bedding can reduce the p-cresol content; in this case phenol is the main component , i nstead (37 ) . 4. EMISSION OF DUST-BORNE VFA AND P H E N O L S / I N D O L E S FROM PIGGERIES The i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of dust from piggeries show that both VFA and p h e n o l s / i n d o l e s are present in a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount. However, compared to the air-borne e m i s s i o n s calculated on the base of the results of LOGTENBERG and STORK (38) less than the tenth part (1/10) of p h e n o l s / i n d o l e s and about the hundredth part (1/100) of VFA are emitted by the dust, only. Table VII compares the d u s t - b o r n e and air-borne emissions of VFA and

324
phenols from p i g g e r i e s . The total amounts are given in addition to the amounts of butyric acid and p-cresol which are both known as intensively smelling c o m p o u n d s . The recognition odour threshold values of these two components are included, 3 as well. Under the assumption of a dust concentration of 10 mg/m (7) one cubic meter of air from a pig house contains 6.27 ug dustborne VFA and 2.76 ug dust-borne phenolic/indolic compounds; 62.7 mg VFA and 27.6 mg phenolic/indolic compounds are emitted from a 500 pig fattening unit per hour at a medium ventilation rate of 20m3/70kg pig-h. When comparing the dust-borne c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of butyric acid and p-cresol with the odour thresholds it seems that the concentrations are too small to be relevant for an odour nuisance. However, if the dust is removed from the gas phase of the air from animal houses the odour disappears ( 3 9 ) , (40) ,(14). This supports the opinion of HAMMOND et al. (40) that the odor is concentrated on the dust p a r t i c l e s . The authors conclude from their data that the c o n c e n t r a t i o n , of the two odorants butyric acid and p-cresol is about 4 10 greater on an aerosol particle than it is in an equal volume of air. Thus, an aerosol particle deposited on the olfactory organ carries odour equivalent to a much greater volume of air ( 4 0 ) . These considerations indicate that dust from animal houses should be taken into account in connection with odour emission/immission m e a s urements not only by chemical analysis but by sensory evaluations using o l f a c t o m e t e r s without d u s t f i 1 t e r s , as w e l l . 5. CONTROL OF DUST-BORNE ODOURS There are basically two ways of controlling dust-borne o d o u r s . An effective way seems to be the filtration of the air to remove the dust ( 4 1 ) . VAN GEELEN (14) reports on the reduction of the odour emission from a broiler house with 15.000 animals of 6 5 % by means of filter bags when filtering the exhaust air. H o w e v e r , the investments and running costs amounted to about DM 4.00 per 100 birds per y e a r . The second way is to avoid the dust release in the animal house as far as p o s s i b l e . The following possibilities are recommended: - feeding i n t e r v a l s , no self-feeding (17) - pellets instead of meal feed - wet feeding instead of dry feeding (25) - vacuum cleaning, fogging and showering (22) A reduction of the dust content in the air of animal confinements bare not only the chance to diminish the odour emission from the animal houses but can have a positive influence on the animals' health and p e r f o r m a n c e , as w e l l . Acknowledgement The author wants to express his thanks to Dr. W . H e i d m a n n , Chemmical Institute for his help in preparing Table IV, Dr.G.Klinkmann for revising the English text, Mr. K.H. Linkert for doing the drawing, and M r s . U. Arzt for typing the m a n u s c r i p t .

325
REFERENCES HONEY, L.F. and J.B. McQUITTY (1976). Dust in the animal environment. Research Bulletin 76-2, 1-66. ACKEMANN, H.H. (1980). Quantitative Untersuchungen liber den bakteriellen Keimgehalt des Absetzstaubes in zwei Schweinemaststallen. Dtsch Tierarztl. Wschr. 87, 335-338. LANGE, A., G. MEHLWRN, W. METHLING and V. NEUPARTH (1983). Dynamik der bakteriellen Kontamination des Staubes in Abferkelstall en. In: 5. Int. Leipziger Tierhyg. Symp., Leipzig, Sammelbd. d. Vortr. S. 137-142. HILLIGER, H.G. (1984). Zur Bilanzierung der Bakterienflora in der Stalluft. Zbl. Vet. Med. B,31, 493-504. MARTIN, H. and R.A. WILLOUGHEY (1972). Organic dust, sulfur dioxide, and the respiratory tract of swine. Arch. Environ. Health 25, 158165. OWEN, J.E. (1982a). Dust - the problem and possibilities. Farm Bldg. Progress 67, 3-6. CURTIS, ETC. (1983). Environmental management in animal agriculture. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa. PEPYS, I., P.A. IEMKINS, G.M. FESTENSTEIN, P.H. GREGORY, M.E. LASEY and F.A. SKINNER (1963). Farmer's lung: Thermophilic actinomycetes as a source of "farmer's lung hay" antigen. Lancet, 607-611. BiiTIKOFFER, E. and A.L. de KECK (1969) .Hlihnerzuchterlunge. Dtsch. med. Wochenschr. 94, 2627-2631. KOSTERS, J. (198177 Stallstaub kann gefa'hrlich werden. DGS 33, 292293. DAY, D.L., W.L. HENSEN and S. ANDERSON (1965). Gases and odors in confinement buildings. Trans. ASAE 8, 118-121. BURNETT, W.E. (1969). Odor transport by particulate matter in high density poultry houses. Poultry Sci. 48, 182-185. WEURMAN, C. (1975). Vergleich zweier Methoden flir die Messung von Geruchen. VDI-Bericht 226, 135-139. VDI-Verlag GmbH Dusseldorf. VAN GEELEN, M. (198377~Stankproblemen bij slachtkuikenhok zijn eventueel op te lossen. Pluimveehouderij 13, 12-13. CURTIS, S.E., J.G. DRUMMOND, D.J. GRURUOH, P.B. LYNCH and A.H. JENSEN (1975). Relative and quantitative aspects of aerial bacteria and dust in swine houses. J. Animal Sci. 41, 1512-1520. BRESK, B. and J. STOLPE (1975). Eer EinfluB des Staubes in industriemaBigen Schweineproduktionsanlagen auf die Leistung und Gesundheit der Tiere. Monatsh. Veterinarmed. 30, 572-576. HONEY, L.F. and J.B. McQUITTY (19797. Some physical factors affecting dust concentrations in a pig facility. Can. Agric. Engineering 21, 9-13. EOlLO, C.A. et al. (1969). Dust production of poultry litter materials. Auburn Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta. Circ. 169. MATTHES, H. (1979). Art und Zusammensetzung der Luftverunreinigungen in der Nutztierhaltung und ihre Wirkung in der Stallumgebung. Dtsch. Tierarztl. Wochenschr. 86, 262-265. MAN, C..L. CERNEA and T. BUHATEL (1971). Examenal calitativ pulberilor din aerul adapsturilor pentru pasari. Lucrari stiintifice, seria medicina veterinara 27, 321-329. KOON, J., J.R. HOWESTW. GRUB and C.A. ROLLO (1963). Poultry dust: Origin and composition. Agr. Eng. 44, 608-609.

326
(22) (23) (24) (25) NILSSON, C. (1982). Dust investigations in pig houses. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Farm Buildings, Divison of Farm Building Constructions, Lund. Rapport 25, pp 93. HILLIGER, H.G. (1966). Gravimetrische StaubmessungenTn Sta'llen. Zbl. Vet. Med. B, 13, 698-708. PALOHEIMO, L.T1969). Weender Analyse. In: W. LEMKEIT, K. BREIREM and E. GRASSMANN (Hrsg.). Handbuch der Tierernahrung, Bd. 1, S.164171, Verlag Parey, Berlin, Hamburg. HELEN, M. (1984). Einige Ursachen fur die Variationen der Staubkonzentration im Mastschweinestall. In: Symposium der International en Gesellschaft fur Tierhygiene, Hrsg.: Deutsche Veterinarmedizinische Gesellschaft, 28-30. NAKAUE, H.S., J.K. KOELLIKER, D.R. BUHLER and G.H. ARSCOTT (1981). Distribution of inorganic elements in poultry house dust. Poultry Sci. 60, 1386-1391. CERMAK, J.P. and P.A. ROSS (1978). Airborne dust concentrations associated with animal housing tasks. Farm Buildg. Progr. 51^, 11-15. BUNDY, D.S. and E.T. HAZEN (1975). Dust levels in swine confinement systems associated with different feeding methods. Trans. Amer. Soc. Agric. Eng. 18, 137-139. SCHAEFER, J., J.M.H. BEMELMANS and M.C. Ten NOEVER DE BRAUW (1974). Onderzoek naar de voor de stank van varkensmesterijen verantwoordilijke componenten. Landbouwkund. Tijdschr., pt 86-9, 228-232. HAMMOND, E.G., C. FEDLER and G. JUNK (1979). Identification of dustborne odors in swine confinement facilities. Trans. ASAE 22, No. 5, 1186-1189 & 1192. TRAVIS, T.A. and L.F. ELLIOTT (1977). Quantitation of indole and scatole in a housed swine unit. J. Environ. Qual. 6, 407-410. HARTUNG, J. (1983). Spurengase im Huhnerstallstaub. In: 15. Kongress d. Dtsch. Veterinarmed. Ges., Bad Nauheim, Ber. S.246-250 (Fortschr. Veterinarmed. 37). AENGST, C. (1984). Zur Zusammensetzung des Staubes in einem Schweinemaststall. Hannover, Tierarztl. Hochsch., Diss. HARTUNG, J. (1985). Gas chromatographic investigations of swine house dust on odorous compounds. Environmental Technology Letters 6, 21-30. SPOELSTRA, S.F. (1978). Microbial aspects of the formation of malodorous compounds in anaerobically stored piggery wastes. Wageningen, Landbouwhogeschool, Diss., pp. 91. SCHAEFER, J. (1977). Sampling, characterization and analysis of malodours. Agric. Environm. 3, 121-127. HARTUNG, J. and E. ROKICKT (1984). Zum Vorkommen phenolartiger Verbindungen im Staub von Schweine- und Huhnerstall. Zbl. Bakt. Hyg., I. Abt. Orig. B, 179, 431-439. LOGTENBERG, M.Th. and B. STORK (1976). Het ontwikkelen van meetmethoden voor het bepalen van de stank van ventilatielucht van mestvarkensstallen.Rapport de Centraal Technisch Instituut TNO, Zeist/ Holland. Ref.no: 76-06 054, Dossier: 01-4-40130. WILLSON, G.B. (1971). Control of odours from poultry houses. ASAE Symp. Livestock Waste Management, Columbus/Ohio, 19.-22.4.1971. HAMMOND, E.G., C. FEDLER and R.J. SMITH (1981). Analysis of particle -borne swine house odours. Agric. and Environment 6, 395-399. OWEN, J.E. (1982b). Dust - Filtration solutions and their cost. Farm Building Progress 68, 19-23.

(26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) (33) (34) (35) (36) (37) (38)

(39) (40) (41)

327
(42) CORMACK, D., T.A. DORLING and B.W.J. LYNCH (1974). Comparison of techniques for organoleptic odour intensity assessment. Chem. Ind. (London) no.2 , 857-861. (43) LEONARDOS, G., D. KENDALL and N. BARNARD (1969). Odor threshold determination of 53 odorant chemicals. J. Air Poll. Contr. Assoc. 19, 91-95.

mg/m3 605040302010rh
*

r+

ii
E F

Figure 1: Amounts of dust (mg/m3) in the air of poultry houses during different activities from CERHAK and ROSS (27). A = background dust level, B = meal feeding (trolley), C = meal feeding (hoppers), D = egg collecting, E = muck removal (belt), F = cleaning operations.

328

10

I I ' I I III 12 It 16 IB 10 22 K h

Figure 2: Dust concentration ( m g / m 3 ) , ventilation rate (m 3 / pig h ) , temperature ( C ) , and relative humidity (%) during 24 h in a pig fattening house from NILSSON ( 2 2 ) . The arrows (f) indicate time of feeding.

Table I: Predominant sources of the dust in pig and hen houses from 1)= HONEY and McQUITTY (17) and 2)= MAN et a l . ( 2 0 ) . n.r. = not reported.
dust originating from feed bedding animals manure hen Pig" without bedding battery bedding
21

80-90

80-90

nr. 55-68 2-12 2-8

5-11 rtr.

4-12 2-8

329
Table II: Material composition of dust and feedstuff from pig and hen houses. Results from 1)= AENGST ( 3 3 ) , 2) = HARTUNG ( 3 4 ) , 3)= KOON et al. ( 2 1 ) , 4)= HARTUNG ( 3 2 ) . n.r. = not reported.
components pig hoij s e (no bedding) hen house (battery) dust" dust 2 ' feed 1 ' dust 3 ' dust*' f e e d " /. V. 7. 7.

dry

matter

87 24

87 24

88 19

92 60

89 50 10
nr. nr.

92 17 15

crude protein

fat
crude fibre

4 3
15

5 5
n.r.

4 5 5

9 4
ar.

2 4

ash

Table III: Number of particles collected by the Andersen Sampler and weight of settled dust in an experimental piggery at different conditions from HONEY and McQUITTY (17)
treatment number of part cles / 0.028 rn particle > size 7-16jjm <5,um 51370 32450 38200 45630 42 770 41050 38650 45170 41900 119 920 85230 86420 118 730 88390 116760 93820 111330 102580 settled dust g/rrfday 1342 10.03 12.38 11.08 15.85 7.62 12.08 11.37 11.37

rel humidity (low) rel humidity (high) pen volume 22.1 rr? pen volume 11.1 m3 floor feeding self f e e d i n g a i r f l o w 595rr?/h a i r f l o w 297rr?/h average

330
Table IV: Volatile compounds identified in the dust of swine confinement units Hydrocarbons Hexane i-Pi nen Limonen 3,7,7-Trimethylbicyclo ( 3 , 1 , 1 ) 2-Hepten Benzene Toluene Alcohols 1-Pentanol i-Heptanol 4-Methylcyclohexanol 2-Ethylhexanol Phenols Phenol p-Cresol o-Cresol p-Ethylphenol o-Ethylphenol m-Ethylphenol Indoles Indole Skatole Aldehydes Butanal 2-Butenal Pentanal 2-Pentenal Hexanal 2-Hexenal Heptanal 2-Heptenal 2,4-Heptadienal Nonanal 2-Nonenal 2,4-Nonadienal Decanal 2,4-Decadienal Benzaldehyde 4) 4) 4) 4) 1)3)4) 4) 1)3) 4) 3)4) 3) 3) 3)4) 4) 3)4) 1)4) 2)6) 2)3)6) 1)3)6) 3)4)6) 1) 3)6) 4) 4) 1) 1) 1) 1) 1) 1) 1) 1) 1) 1) Ketones Acetone Butanone Pentanone Octanone l-0ctene-3-one Ac ids Acetic Propionic i-Butyric Butyric i-Valeric Valeric Hexanoic Heptanoic Octanoic Nonanoic Decanoic Undecanoic Dodecanoic Laurie Tridecanoic Tetradecanoic Benzoic Phenyl acetic 3-Phenylpropionic Hydrocinnamic Mi scellaneous Compounds 2-Pentylfuran Vanillin 3) 3) 4)5)6) 4)5)6) 1)5)6) 4)5)6) 5)6) 4)5)6) 4)5) 4) 4) 4) 4) 4) 4) 3) 4) 4) 4) 3)4) 3) 4) 4) 4) 4) 4) 4)

E U R M A N (13) 1) = W 2) = TRAVIS and ELLIOTT (31) A M M O N D et a l . (30) 3) = H A M M O N D et a l . (40) 4) = H 5) = AENGST (33) 6) = HARTUNG (34)

331
Table V: Amounts o f odourous c o n s t i t u e n t s i n t h e a e r o s o l phase ( u g / g ) and i n t h e s e t t l e d d u s t ( u g / g ) of swine house a i r f r o m 1)= H A M M O N D et a l . (40), 2) = AENGST ( 3 3 ) , and 3) = HARTUNG (34). - i n d i c a t e s not r e p o r t e d . quantitati re results in n g / l aerosol 2) D 183 8.5 65 21 1.5 1.7 0,2 159 1.6 04 0.6 03 0.2 0.2 quantitat ve results i n j j g / g settled dust CV relative 3) values 267 818 426 UO 282 223 47 805 7.5 A 22 11.6 73 ASA 9.9 62 6.1 1073 38 92 1A5 13

compounds acetic acid propionic acid iso-butyric acid butyric acid iso-valeric acid valeric acid caproic acid phenol p- cresol p-ethylphenol o-ethylphenol m-ethylphenol indole skatole

455 47.1 57.8 488 43.8

333 52.6 4.7 40 5.4

11 15

Table V I : Comparison of r e s u l t s f r o m i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f a i r , s l u r r y , and dust samples from p i g g e r i e s as s t a t e d i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e . 1)= LOGTENBERG and STORK ( 3 8 ) , 2)= SPOELSTRA ( 3 5 ) , 3)= H A M M O N D et a l . ( 4 0 ) , 4)= HARTUNG (34). n.r.= not reported. air1' compounds acetic acid propionic acid iso-butyric acid butyric acid isovaleric acid valeric acid phenol p-cresol p-ethylphenol indole skatole
40.1 anaerobic

dust 31 values 7. 51.7

24.1

dust"

slurry relative 215 7.6 221 45 3.8 312 662 ar. 1.2 1.4 582 23.9 3.4 7.7 3.4 3A 7.1 71.3 8.5 09 122

ar. ISA nr. 5

n.r.

426 223 7.5 11.4 9.9 6.1 333 526 47 40 54

5tt ar. ar. ar.

332
Table VII: Amounts of volatile fatty acids and phenolic/indolic compounds emitted from piggeries by dust and air, respectively. The recognition odour thresholds for butyric acid and p-cresol are included. 1)= HARTUNG ( 3 4 ) , 2)= LOGTENBERG and STORK ( 3 8 ) , 3)= CORMACK et al. ( 4 2 ) , 4)= LEONARDOS et a l . ( 4 3 ) .
components emitted dust-borne air-borne pglnf n pg/m 3 2) 627 0.73 2.76 1.45 613 220 35 24 odour threshold pg/rr?

volatile fatty acids total butyric acids phenolics /indolics total p-cresol

4"

4A*>

333
DOST CONCENTRATIONS IN PIG BUILDINGS G.A. Carpenter and L.J. Moulsley National Institute of Agricultural Engineering

Summary The o r i g i n s , c o n s t i t u e n t s , e f f e c t s and p o s s i b l e b e n e f i t s from the removal of dust in livestock buildings are given. Reductions in dust mass, airborne b a c t e r i a and p a r t i c l e counts of at l e a s t 50% were reported using a f i l t e r system in weaner pig houses.

1. 1.1

INTRODUCTION Why dust occurs

The high concentrations of dust frequently encountered inside livestock buildings are an inevitable result of the high stocking densities used in intensive systems of husbandry. The situation is aggravated by the relatively low ventilation rates to conserve metabolic heat of the stock for the maintainance of optimum environmental temperatures. Concentrations of dust are thus highest in cold weather (which means most nights as well as in winter), whereas in warm weather high ventilation rates tend to reduce dust levels. They are increased by activity of stock and stockman at times of feeding or stock weighing and movement. For growing stock, dust concentrations increase with age and are also influenced by the dustiness of the feed. The dust concentration varies in space and time and deposited dust re-suspended frequently by air currents, arising from convection, stock movement or ventilation.

Constituents of dust Sources of dust are m o s t l y o r g a n i c , f o r example s k i n and f e a t h e r s , feed, l i t t e r and dried faeces. P a r t i c l e s i z e of suspended dust ranges from 0.1 to 10 jim. On average, one p a r t i c l e i n s i x , mostly l a r g e p a r t i c l e s i n the range 3 to 10 jim has a l i v e bacterium attached to i t . Other p a r t i c l e s have viruses or fungal spores attached. P a r t i c l e s that have l i v i n g microorganisms a t t a c h e d to them are c a l l e d v i a b l e p a r t i c l e s . Some v i a b l e p a r t i c l e s c o n s i s t of unattached s p o r e s of fungi or b a c t e r i a . Viable and n o n - v i a b l e p a r t i c l e s can be counted i n numbers per m of a i r e i t h e r as a t o t a l or in different s i z e ranges. Many odorous compounds are also carried on dust p a r t i c l e s . Gravimetric concentration of dust i s usually given as mg per m5 and can be 10 to 80 times greater in animal houses than outdoors. Dust may a f f e c t the health and performance of livestock in four ways: as a p h y s i c a l i r r i t a n t of the r e s p i r a t o r y t r a c t , as a c a r r i e r of t o x i c chemicals and odours, as a carrier of pathogenic micro-organisms and as a carrier of commensal, non-pathogenic bacteria. Dust may also affect the h e a l t h of the stockman s i n c e f o r both l i v e s t o c k and humans, the range of p a r t i c l e s i z e s that i s p o t e n t i a l l y damaging to lungs i s below 7 Jim which corresponds to t h a t i n s u s p e n s i o n i n l i v e s t o c k b u i l d i n g s . Although the threshold l i m i t value for inert mineral dust i s 10 mg/m , t o t a l and 5 mg/nr3 r e s p i r a b l e ( i . e . s m a l l e r than 7.0 um), t h e r e i s no o v e r a l l value f o r organic dust as i t s nature i s so variable.
1.2 Possible effects of dust

1.2

334
The purpose of removing dust Removal of dust i n r e l a t i o n to i n t e n s i v e l i v e s t o c k b u i l d i n g s i s u s u a l l y achieved by use of dry a i r f i l t e r s , t h i s method being chosen because of e a s e of maintenance and low c a p i t a l c o s t . Four reasons e x i s t for removing dust i n connection with intensive buildings: 1. 2. To prevent i n f e c t i o n of s p e c i a l d i s e a s e f r e e herds or flocks, a i r entering the building i s sometimes f i l t e r e d . To reduce nuisance from odours and dust around the b u i l d i n g or reduce the chances of c r o s s - i n f e c t i o n to livestock i n nearby buildings, a i r leaving the building i s sometimes f i l t e r e d . To p r e v e n t h e a t r e c o v e r y or h e a t i n g and c o o l i n g equipment from being fouled by dust accumulation. To reduce nuisance and hazards from dust i n s i d e the livestock building i t s e l f . Because the dust i s p r a c t i c a l l y a l l generated in the b u i l d i n g , only f i l t r a t i o n o f i n t e r n a l l y r e c i r c u l a t e d a i r can e f f e c t i v e l y reduce the concentration of dust inside the building. 1.4

34*

THE NIAE INTERNAL AIR FILTER The f i l t e r unit was located e n t i r e l y i n s i d e the respective buildings and was independent of the v e n t i l a t i o n system. The u n i t c o n s i s t e d of a s u c t i o n box ( u s u a l l y f l o o r s t a n d i n g ) to which the f i l t e r m a t e r i a l was a t t a c h e d u s u a l l y as a f l a t v e r t i c a l s u r f a c e of an area to g i v e a f a c e v e l o c i t y of about 0.75 m/s. Bust c o l l e c t e d on t h i s surface and was removed with a vacuum cleaner. Cleaned a i r was directed into an overhead discharge duct with a permeable lower surface. The capacity of the fan in the f i l t e r u n i t was made the same order as t h a t of the main v e n t i l a t i n g fan. The overhead duct was l o c a t e d above and as near to the s t o c k as p o s s i b l e so t h a t the c l e a n a i r flowed downwards towards the s t o c k . This a i r did not cause a draught because i t was discharged at a low speed (0.3 m/s) and as i t was recirculated i t was at the same temperature as the a i r in the room. The e f f e c t s on l i v e s t o c k are l i k e l y to depend p a r t l y on the d i s e a s e status of the stock. Those with respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and r h i n i t i s are more l i k e l y to b e n e f i t than t h o s e t h a t are e n t i r e l y f r e e of disease. Experiments with veal calves have shown that f i l t r a t i o n reduces the incidence and s e v e r i t y of virus pneumonia. Experiments with early-weaned p i g s i n a r h i n i t i s - i n f e c t e d herd have shown a 23% g r e a t e r growth r a t e between 3 and 7 weeks of age. Further experiments with early-weaned pigs indicate a s i g n i f i c a n t improvement in days to slaughter in the subsequent f a t t e n i n g s t a g e . Further e x p e r i m e n t s are needed to e s t a b l i s h the c o s t e f f e c t i v e n e s s of a i r f i l t r a t i o n . Air sampling There are three common ways of assessing the particulate content of air. One measures dust mass expressed as mg/nr. Another counts p a r t i c l e s expressed as number/m^. A t h i r d measures b a c t e r i a l c o l o n y - f o r m i n g p a r t i c l e s (BCFP) expressed also as number/m^. 1.6
1.5 The effects of internal air filtration

2.

335
3. 3.1 SOME RESULTS OBTAINED Measurement of duet mass

Air was drawn t h r o u g h a p r e - w e i g h e d f i l t e r p a p e r by means of an e x h a u s t i n g pump. For o u t d o o r o r c l e a n a i r , a flow r a t e of about 30 1/min for 3 h was required to obtain a d e p o s i t of s u f f i c i e n t weight. For the a i r i n s i d e l i v e s t o c k b u i l d i n g s , 10 1/min for 3 h was s u f f i c i e n t . Some measured a v e r a g e v a l u e s i n " f l a t - d e c k " p i g houses with early-weaned pigs measured near the pigs are as follows (mg/m'): Farm A Farm B Farm C Age of pig Control F i l t e r e d Control F i l t e r e d Control F i l t e r e d 4 weeks 3 1 7 4 0.5 0.3 6 weeks 5 2 14 7 5.0 2.0 The ' C o n t r o l ' was f o r a s t a n d a r d room and ' f i l t e r e d ' was when an i n t e r n a l r e c i r c u l a t i n g f i l t e r was f i t t e d . Typical outdoor values on the farms were 0.1 - 0.2 mg/m*. Airborne b a c t e r i a Using an Andersen sampler, t o t a l counts of a i r b o r n e BCFP ranged from 3 to 7 (xlC*5) close to pigs. In g e n e r a l , values increased 3-fold as the pigs grew from 3 weeks t o 7 weeks o l d and h a l v e d when i n t e r n a l f i l t e r s were installed.
3.3 Particle counts Using an optical instrument, typical counts were as follows: Total particles larger than 0.5 Jim, near to pigs, standard room, 24 x 10 per m 3 ; filtered room 11 x 10 per m* Expressed as % in each size range, Size range (pi) 0.5-1 1-2 2-3 Standard room 49 23 8 Filtered room 66 24 4 3.4

3-2

>5 20 6

Comparison of dust mass and particle numbers As an approximation, the size range >2 jim contains 95^ of the dust mass but only 30? of the particles whereas the size range <2 urn contains only 5% of the dust mass but 10% of the particles. SOME CONCLUSIONS

4.

1. 2. 3*

A s i m p l e f i l t e r i n g u n i t reduced t h e d u s t mass c o n c e n t r a t i o n s found in weaner houses by about a half. The reductions i n the b a c t e r i a l and p a r t i c l e counts were similar. Removal of most of t h e d u s t mass a c c o u n t e d f o r o n l y a minority of the p a r t i c l e s .

336
LARGE-SCALE BIOGAS PLANTS IN HUNGARY G. MESZAROS and L. MATYAS National Institute of Agricultural Engineering Hungary

Summary On large-scale animal breeding farms in Hungary a large amount of slurry is produced, its disposal is problematic on account of the hazard on environmental pollution. Governmental decisions were made to establish biogas plants with central subsidy for processing a part of the slurry and other wastage of organic origin, such as communal wastage. Following this governmental programme two large-scale biogas plants were constructed and in this paper we would like to give a review about the results of our investigations. At one of the biogas plants the appr. daily amount of 60 m slurry coming from a dairy farm with 750 cows is processed in continuous operation by the technology based on the Austrian BIMA licence. The other plant operating periodically produces biogas in digesters of 650 cb.m volume by digesting mainly cattle litter and manure, and other communal wastage, sewage, etc.

1. BIMA SYSTEM BIOGAS PLANT The plant was established between the specialized cattle breeding farm and the broiler plant of the agricultural cooperative "II. Rakoczi Ferenc" at Szecseny. The adaptation project was prepared by the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering and by AGROBER. The daily 60 m total slurry with 10 p.c. dry matter from the cattle farm is processed in the digester of continuous operation in mezofil (30-35 C) temperature range by digestion for 30 days. The biogas plant of continuous operation can be run automatically. During the operation only the temperature and the recharging of the manure must be secured. The main parts of the plant are the following : the collecting-homogenizing pit with the pit for the digested slurry, digester with heat exchanger, the gas holder and the digested slurry storage (fig.l.). The slurry is delivered by a bulldozer board into the sewer of the dairy farm from where it flows into the collecting-homogenizing pit by gravitation. There is possibility here to mix poultry manure as well. After homogenization with the home-made screw mixer the raw slurry gets through a CSN-600 slurry pump 5-6 times daily into the digester through a counterflow heat exchanger. In the heat exchanger the already digested slurry preheats the delivered "cold" raw slurry. The mixing of the slurry in the digester and the freshly fed one takes place without any mechanical mechanism, by gravitation, partly during the feeding of the slurry, partly during the pressure equalization of the main and secondary digesters. The base coarse and the inner division of the cylindrical reinforced

337
steel digester is heated by hot water. The heating temperature is ensured by burning a part of the produced gas in a cast iron boiler. The produced biogas and the digested slurry with the same mass as the conveyed raw slurry is then delivered into gas holders. Here occurs some after, digestion. The gas holders are cylindrical reinforced concrete tanks with swimming plastic gas-dome. The digested slurry flows from here into an intermediary collecting pit, from where the already mentioned slurry pump conveys it into the liquid phase silo and from there it will be delivered by tanklorries onto the field. The utilizable part of the biogas will be burnt in the BO-130 boilers with gas burners of the poultry houses. TECHNICAL DATA Volume of the collecting-homogenizing pit Volume of the digester Volume of slurry in the gas holder in summer operation Volume of stored gas in summer Pressure Volume of slurry storage Type of boiler heating the digester Temperature of input heating water Temperature of output water Pressure required for the gas-burners 200 m" 1800 m 830 nu 690 m 13-15 mbar (130-150 mm W.c) 1600 m 3 K0MF0RT K-II. V/o. 60 C 45 C 8 mbar (80 mm W.C.)

TEST RESULTS The planned and measured operation characteristics, as well as the main test results at the biogas plant of the agricultural co-operative "II. Rakoczi Ferenc" at SzScsSny are the following (Table 1., Fig. 2.) Table 1. TEST RESULTS Unit planned Daily amount of slurry Single amount of fed-in slurry Dry matter content Organic matter content Total gas yield Gas amount for self-sustainment Utilizable gas amount Specific gas yield Efficiency of dry matter decomposition COD reduction m 3 /d m p.c. t/d N.nu/d N.nu/d N.nu/d N.m /t dry matter p.c. p.c.

Value measured 61.6 10.3

53 8.8 10
4.24 1658

10

180

5.15 1842

1478

308 335

1548

46

62.2 46.0

338
In the summer period of 1984 the specific gas yield developed as expected. The total gas yield projected to the organic matter has been 335 N.m^ per ton. This corresponds both the literature data and the results of previous test results. According to the inner characteristics it has been succeeded to secure the 10 p.c. dry matter content for an average longer period. But during rainy weather the cattle slurry will be deluted to such an extent that it cannot be delivered directly into the digester. This results in a slight shift of the feeding cycles, further in the development of less biogas with lower quality. The CH content of the developed biogas in average corresponds 55 %, its heating value of 19-20 MJ/N.m equals to 0.45-0.48 kg fuel oil. The degree of digestion was advantageous. The dry matter content of the digested slurry is 45 p.c. of the original amount, its organic matter content is 38 p. c. of the same. The chemical reaction of the digested slurry becomes slightly alkaline according to the digesting processes taking place. The C/N ratio will be reduced by 45 p.c. during digestion. The NPK-content of the slurry slightly changes during digestion, and the characteristics of the digested slurry can be considered as equal in practice. The reduction of the digested slurry's COD amounts to 46 p.c. As a consequence of the simple construction and mode of operation of the biogas plant, it is not required to employ an operating staff with specialized knowledge. The biogas plant of BIMA-system realized on basis of the test results fulfils the projected parameteTs, it is suitable for producing biogas by digesting litterless cattle slurry. A basic precondition of the profitable operation is the total utilization of the biogas produced. 2. SEMI-DRY BIOGAS PLANT WITH PERIODIC OPERATION The GATE-DOMSOD biogas plant is the common process of the University of Agricultural Sciences at GbdbllS and the Agricultural Cooperative "Dozsa" at Dbmsbd. It utilizes cattle slurry and litter, pig manure and communal sewage water in periodical processing, partly in mezofil, partly in thermofil temperature zones. The main parts of the plant are the following : bucket elevator, feed screw conveyor, 4 digester towers, unloader screw for the digested slurry, liquid phase silo, digested slurry conveyor with storage, gas holder, collecting pits, excess liquid collection pit, boiler house (Fig.3.). The cattle manure with about 25 p.c. dry matter content and the litter is transported by trailer to the reception hopper for manure and solid organic wastes. From here manure will be delivered by a bucket elevator, with the help of feed screw conveyor into the digester tower made of anticorrosive steel. The slurry and the sewage water mixed with faeces will be pumped into the digester. After aeration for 3-5 days, flooding with heated excess liquid the charge will be heated to 55-60C. The feeding orifice then will hermetically be closed and the anaerob digestion lasting 3-4 weeks will be started. During this process the temperature of the biomass will be reduced daily by 1-1 C, while at the end of digestion it will reach 30-35C. The developed biogas is pressed through a gasmeter attached to the top of the digesters into a steel gas holder and stored at 0.6 bar overpressure. A part of the stored gas will be utilized for heating the digester while the net gas production utilized in industrial plants.

339
The digested biomass will be delivered by a screw arranged under the digesters, further by bucket conveyor into storage tank and then removed it will be stacked or directly delivered onto the field. Since the operational test of the biogas plant is still in the phase of fulfilment, only some project data can be described. PROJECTED OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS Composition of the substance for processing - litter manure with 25 p.c. dry matter content, per day - pig slurry with 6 p.c. dry matter content, 9 m per day - sewage with faeces with 8 p.c. dry matter content, 15 m per day Volume of digester towers Aerob digesting period Daily produced amount of gas Utilizable gas amount per day Methane-content of biogas Oil equivalent of the utilizable biogas

33.3 m 58 p.c. 16 p.c. 26 p 3 4 x 670 n' 21 days 3014 N.m 2153 N.m 55-60 p.c. 370-400 t/year

The realization of the planned parameters and the economic characteristics must be determined on the basis of the current operation and of the test.

rcsft?
o

/?/W SLURRY DIGESTED SLURRY BIOGAS

1./ 2./ 3./ 4./ 5./ 6./ 7./ 8./ Dairy farm Elevating pit Heat exchanger Digester Digested slurry collection pit Gas holder Digested slurry storage Broiler plant

Fig. 1

FLOW DIAGRAM OF THE "BIMA" SYSTEM

BIOGAS PRODUCTION

TOTAL AVERAGE BIOGAS PRODUCTION [1841,98 Nnti

NET AVERAGE BIOGAS PRODUCTION 11548,28 Abf/

BIOGAS FOR HEATING AVERAGE OF THE BIOGAS PRODUCTION FOR HEATING [293,70 Nrff]

1984.

10- 11. MARCH

13. 14. 15. APRIL

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. TIME/WEEK/ MAY JUNE
Fig. 2 Biogas production

'

< /J iJii
76/

L,

^I

Fig. 3

Flow diagram of the Bemi-dry digestion system

./ Reception hopper for manure and solid organic wastes ./ Bucket-conveyer ./ Reception bin for slurry effluent and domestic sewage ./ Liquid waste feed pump 5 ./ Feed screw conveyer 6 ./ Digester 7 ./ Liquid phase silo 8 ./ Liquid phase feed pump 9 ./ Bucket conveyer 10 ./ Digested slurry Btorage 11 , / Compressor 12 / Gas holder 13 / Hot water boiler 14 / Excess liquid collection pit 15 / Excess liquid feed pump 16 / Unloader screw 17, / Aerator unit

343
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION TO CONTROL ODOURS P. ESTEBAN TURZO, J. GUTIERREZ SALGUERO and A. MORE HERRERO

Summary The paper sets out Che results obtained from the treatment of animal waste products by anaerobic digestion. An initial study was also made of the production of ammonia compounds in the waste products by anaerobic digestion. In our opinion the anaerobic process is not being optimised for animal wastes, and optimum digestion should be based on new technologies which reduce the retention time. The combined effect of mixing the waste products from different species of animals is reported. The effect of dehydrating the digested waste using solar energy is investigated with respect to the stability of the ammonia compounds and the reduction of odour with the aim of producing an agriculturally valuable product.

INTRODUCTION Anaerobic digestion stabilises animal wastes by reducing the complex organic compounds to principally carbon dioxide and methane. Although anaerobic digestion reduces the odour, the treated waste is not completely inoffensive. Anaerobically digested wastes can be variously treated to produce an acceptably stable product with the recovery of useful compounds. Treatment using physico-chemical processes are feasible but costly. Bearing in mind the above, a series of laboratory studies were undertaken with the aim of maximising treatment using anaerobic digestion, together with a secondary chemical treatment of the digested residue. The first part of the study looked at the effect of retention time and the effect of mixing the waste products of various animal species on methane production and treatment efficiency. The digested wastes contain approximately 20Z organic material together with the fertilizer compounds N, P and K. The levels of bacteria are also high with similar levels to undigested wastes. The bacteria can produce odours and cause bacterial contamination by coliforms and streptocci etc. The second part of the study aimed to assess the effect of dehydration on the anaerobically digested and chemically treated anaerobically digested wastes. ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Material studied: Retention Times: Waste mixes: Duration of tests: Temperature: animal waste products from cattle, pigs and poultry. 10, 20 and 30 days. pig, cattle and pig, poultry. 1 and 2 months 35"C

344
Operation: Analytic methods: Continuous daily addition of the waste volume corresponding to each R.T. or the volume established in the mixed waste studies. Substratum: Total solids, Volatile solids, Total N, NH, V pH biogas: CH 4 , C0 2 > H 2 S, 0 2 The productivity is expressed in CH, 1/kg VS digested and CH, m3/litre of substrate.

Results: DEHYDRATION

The aim of this system was to remove a large volume of water by solar energy. To reduce losses of nitrogen during drying, ammonia was reacted with phosphoric acid to produce less volatile compounds. The study was carried out using 14 x 7 L trays. The pH in 7 trays was measured as pH 5.4. The pH in the remaining trays was not measured. The trays were placed in a plastic tunnel for 15 days and the temperature ranged from 15 to 45C. The results show the average values obtained. RESULTS ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Methane production (lCH,/kg VS) Retention Times 30 Day 199.1 173.4 281.0 Mixed wastes cattle poultry pig & poultry pig & cattle Treatment efficiency Retention Times 144.6 166.2 130.1 186.0 196.5 20 Day 131.5 169.1 295.8 10 Day 127.5 155.0 309.6

pig

cattle poultry

Pig

30 Day VS COD
66.2 69.8 53.6 60.1 69.7 59.6 VS 55.7 58.8 59.2 58.9 65.0

Pig

cattle poultry Mixed wastes cattle poultry pig & poultry pig & cattle

JO : VS 53, .8 58, .0 57, .0

Day COD
52.5 68.4 60.1 COD 65.8 65.1 59.0 62.6 72.0

10 Day VS COD 54.2 40.0 51.1 63.5 50.7 59.6

Pig

345
REDUCING NITROGEN LOSSES Before drying Vol (1) NH (g/1) Total N (g/1) After drying Vol (1) NH. (g/D Total N(g/1) Percentage of e limination With phosphoric acid Untreated DISCUSSION ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Retention time Except in case of the anaerobic digestion of poultry waste, methane production decreases as retention time is reduced. This is a result of the substrate being exposed for less time to the action of anaerobic bacteria. With the poultry waste, it was noted that methane production increased as the retention time was reduced. Also the methane production in the three retention times studies was much higher than that reached in the mixed wastes study when the retention time was greater than 30 days. The main difference is in the composition of the substrate: In the retention time study, the volatile solids value varied between 3, 5 and 7 while in the mixed wastes study it varied between 3, 6 and 4,2. The following tables show the amounts of volatile solids added and digested. Volatile Solids added to the digester Retention time days Untreated Total Z with phosphoric acid Total Z

2.8 4.6

7 196 322

2.8 4.6

7 196 322

13.45 33.90

0.45 60.60 153 00 NH,

25.8 38.9

0.72 186.0 280.1

Vol

93.6 89.3

69.1

5.1

N
13?1 52.3

Volatile solids 1491.5 1901.8 2959.8 1085.9 Volatile solids 799.5 1084.7 1525.3 624.4

30 20 10
Mixed wastes Volatile Solids digested Retention time days

30 20 10
Mixed wastes

The percentage of methane in the biogas was 60.1Z for a retention time of 30 days and 56.8Z for a similar retention time in the mixed waste study. We believe that the concentration of volatile solids in the digested substrate is fundamental and that an optimum (to be determined) exists for each animal species.

346
The aim of the next study concentration in poultry waste. will be to determine the optimum

Mixed wastes Methane production is higher when the anaerobic digestion is carried out with waste from a mixture of different species, increasing the value by 40% in pig/poultry mixes and by 30Z in pig/cattle mixes. The explanation mainly comes from the fact that the mixture is richer in methanogenic bacteria cultures. DEHYDRATION The results show an optimum evaporation along with a good formation of ammonical nitrogen> which forms ammonium salts on reaction with the phosphoric acid. The acidified residue retained 94.9Z of ammonia and 86.91 of total nitrogen, compared to 30.9% and 47.5% respectively in the untreated residue. Recent studies, not reported here, have shown that the optimum pH for the conversion of ammonia to ammium salts using phosphoric acid is approximately pH 4. CONCLUSIONS ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Retention time. The reduction of retention time reduces the conversion of volatile solids to methane. At short retention times more methane is produced per unit of time. An optimum retention time requires the development of technologies which provide the optimum conditions for the bacteria populations to attack the substrate. Homogenisation of the waste is considered indispensible, to avoid great variations in the concentration of antibiotics and the loss of undigested food, etc. Mixed Wastes When mixing animal wastes it is necessary to determine the optimum concentration of organic material with the aim of reaching an optimum digestion process. DEHYDRATION The results show that the process is suitable for countries with a temperate climate. The cost of the process, in reagents, is approximately 5/ms treated. The final product contains significant quantities of the fertilizer nutrients N, P and K. The nitrogen content is close to 4Z and the phosphorus and organic material contents are high, making an agriculturally useful organic product. The determination of the optimum pH is considered a priority in order to establish the economic viability of the process. Future studies are geared towards determining the optimum, pH, the recovery of the evaporated water and the evaluation of the process in agriculture along with the development of technology to improve performance. The reduction of odour reached by acidification is good.

347
THE BIO-GAS PROJECT IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA (Italy)

BONAZZI G.*, CORTELLINI L.*, PICCININI S.*, TILCHE A.** * Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali - Via Crispi, 3 - 42100 Reggio Emilia ** ENEA - Dip. FARE - c.p. 2400 - OO100 ROMA A.D. (Italy) ABSTRACT The running of five full scale plants in breeding farms is analized here in relation to their yield. The digesters were operated at HRT between 10 and 40 days with pig, pig and cattle and cattle waste,The digesters fed by pig waste gave a biogas yield between 0.28 and 0.50 m .kg vSo.d" , at HRT of_10 - 15 days, at an average organic loading rate of 0.84 - 2.55 kg VS.m .d , and at a temperature of digestion of 28 - 40C. One of the plants fed by mixed_waste and operated at an organic loading rate of 0.65 - 1.95 kg VS.m .d gave a biogas yield of 0.39 - 0.48 m .kg" VSo.d" , at a HRT of 20 - 35 days and at a digestion temperature of 30 - 34C. Plug flow plant operating on cattle waste gave a biogas yield of 0.25 - 0.40 m .kg VSo.d a t a HRT of 24 - 40 days, at an organic loading rate of 2.7 - 4.6 kg VS.m" .d and at a digestion temperature above 35C. The organic loading rate and the biogas production were lower than expected due to problems of the settling of solids in the piggeries, to a difficult flow in the sewage and to an animal live weight lower than that of design data. INTRODUCTION In Emilia-Romagna, a Region that represents one twentieth of the Italian land surface, one fourth of the national pig population is concentrated. The average farm dimension is 600 heads; 48% of pig population is in farms larger than 1.000 heads. Therefore, on one hand many farms have large energy needs, but on the other hand they have the availability of a high energy potential in the wastes. Anaerobic digestion is the technology that recovers energy from such wastes. The Emilia-Romagna Authority financed the realization of 5 demonstrative full scale plants in order to verify: 1) the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process; 2) the technical reliability of the plants sold by industry; 3) their economic convenience; 4) the farmer capacity to manage a digester. Three plants are fed by pig waste, one by both pig and cattle waste and one by cattle waste. The plants range in size from 260 to 1.700 m , all of them are high-rate, mesophilic, completely mixed digesters. The plants have different systems of biogas utilization: combustion for heat production, steam production for cheese manufacturing, combustion for forage drying, combined heat and power production. The 5 plants have been operating since the beginning of 1983. The initial results of the efficiency of the digestion process are presented here. The biogas production (m ,d ) is compared to the organic loading (kg VS.d ) and to the temperatures (C) of the process. MATERIALS AND METHODS The main characteristics of the farms are reported in table 1 and the main characteristics of the plants are reported in table 2. In the first stage of the research, still underway, digestion conditions and biogas yield (m biogas kg VSo.d ) were determined. Sampling was carried out differently according to the characteristics of each farm and its plant: daily sampling of feed was carried out at the farms 2 and 3, spot sampling twice a week at the farms 4 and 5 and sampling throughout the day for a few days a

348
month at farm 1. The content of Total Solids (TS) , Volatile Solids (VS) , Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) , Ammonia (NH - N) , Chemical Oxigen Demand (COD), Volatil Acids (VFA), pH and Total Alcalinity (TA) in feed, in digestion and in effluent were measured. Analyses for TS, VS, COD, TKN, NH -N were carried out according to Standard Methods (APHA, 1975); VA were determined by steam distillation and titration, TA by titration at pH 3.8. The biogas methane and CO content were measured by IR and CO absorption. Furthermore the plants are equipped with a computerized system for the continuous recording of data relating to the temperatures (T) of waste, gas and water in different points, the biogas production and consumption, the production and consumption of electric power and hot water, the CO and CH percentage in biogas. These collected data will allow us to determine the energy flow of the plants and to evaluate the efficiency of the different heating and mixing systems. TABLE 1 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FARMS farm 1 TESTA 2 S. MATTEO 3 PERUGINA 4 PELLERANO 5 I.C.S.A. type of breeding Full cycle pigs Fattening pigs Fattening pigs and beef cattle dairy cattle piglet production live weight (tons) raw waste (m J .d _1 ) waste disposal depollution land spreading land spreading land spreading depollution

100 30-40 180 22-25 300 (pigs) 60-85 390(beef cattle) 72 2.5-4 410 140-160

TABLE 2 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PLANTS farm type of plant digester working volume (m3) mixing system heating system

gas
storage volume <mJ)

biogas

use

1 2

single stage with slurry recirculation single stage with out slurry recirculation single stage with recirculation of slurry from the post digester plug-flow

220 350

1260

external heating pump exchangers exter- external nal gas heating lifter exchanger in the gas lifter inter- periferic nal gas exchangers lifter

auger

and

50

200

combined heat and power units steam production

450+600 forage drying

65

internal serpentines inter- internal nal gas exchanger lifter in the gas lifter

40
200

single stage with 1500 out slurry recircu lation

hot water production and forage drying continued heat and power unit

349
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Fig. 1: Organic loading (kg VS.d ) , biogas production (m .d ture (C) of digestion in the plant 1. ) and tempera-

Biogas (nrkl)

TFC)
Digester Temperature .40 .35

200.

150.

Biogas production

.30 (Kg/d) JB00 J00 .400 .300

1
100.
Organic loading 50.

N/82 D

J/83

O
) and tempera-

Fig. 2: Organic loading (kg VS.d ) , biogas production (m .d ture (C) of digestion in the plant 2.

Biogas (mto)

J/84

350
PLANT 1 (Fig. 1) The wastes are loaded to the digester after settling. In this plant the settling tank is also the clarifier with the mixing of feed and effluent. The biogas yield varied from 0.28 to 0.33 m .kg VSo.d , at an HRT between 11 (November, December) and,14.6 days (from March to October), at a loading rate of 1.7 - 2.55 kg VS.m .d" , and at a T ranging from 30 to 40C.-The average biogas production rate per unit volume of digestion was 0.6 m .m .d" (60 - 65% C H J . 4 PLANT 2 (Fig. 2) 3 The biogas yield ranged between 0.45 and 0.60 m kg VSo.d at HRT of 15 days and at a T of digestion of 33C. The low production rate per unit volume, 0.62 m .m .d (65 - 70% CH K can be explained with the low average organic loading rate: 1.18 kg VS m .d (maximum values: 1.7 - 1.9 kg VS. m .d ) . The variations of organic loading in Febrary and in March were due to the use of waste for different purpouses. Fig. 3: Organic loading (kg VS.d ) , biogas production (m .d ture C O of digestion in the plant 3. ) and tempera-

T(C)

Biogas

(m%)

J/84

351
PLANT 3 (Fig. 3) 1 The biogas yield ranged between 0.39 and 0.48 nT.kg _ " VSo.d VSo.d -1 at a HRT of 20 - 35 days in the digester and at a T of digestion of 30 - 34C. 13^1 highest yield was observed at an organic loading rate of 0.62 kg VS.s .a and at a T above 32C. The plant, due to repeated repairs to the sewage system, was underloaded with respect tp design data: average 0.93 kg VS.m .d (design data: 3 - 3.5 kg VS.m .d ) . The average biogas production rate per unit volume was therefore 0.4 m ,m .d (60 - 62% CH.). 4 Fig. 4: Organic loading (kg VS.d ) , biogas production (m .d ) and temperature C O of digestion in the plant 4.

Biogas 100.

PLANT 4 (Fig. 4) ,-i at a HRT of The biogas yield ranged between 0.24 and 0.4 m .kg VSo.d 24 - 40 days and at a loading rate of 2.7 - 4.6 kg VS.m .d . The highest biogas yields were observed at an HRT of 40 days and at an organic loading rate of 2.7 - 3.4 kg VS.m .d . The biogas production rate per unit volume (50 - 55% CH,) ranged between 1 and 1.44 m .m . d PLANT 5 (Fig. 5) The plant was operated at an average organic loading rate of 0.84 kg SV. m .d and at a HRT of 10 - 15 days. The biogas yield ranged between 0.33 and 0.49 m .kg VSo.d . The lowest values are related to a HRT of 10 days. At a HRT of 15 days biogas yield of 0.4 - 0.5 m .kg VS.d was observed inspite of digestion temperature below 30C. The average biogas production rate per unit volume (60 - 65% CH ) was 0.36 m ,m .d

352
Fig. 5: Organic loading (kg VS.d ) , biogas production (m .d ture (C) of digestion in the plant 5. ) and tempera

Biogas (nrftl)

Digester Temperature

T(C) .35 .30

700. .25 600.

<

Biogas production

VS (Kg/d) 2000

500.

400. Organic loading 300.

.1500

.1000 200. .500 100.

J/84
CONCLUSIONS The biogas yield of 5 full scale plants was determined; values range between 0.28 and 0.50 m .kg VSo.d at a temperature ranging from 28 and 40C and at a HRT of 28 40 days. In plants 1235 the average biogas pro duction rate per unit of volume was of 0.36 0.62 m . m .d due to organic loading rate lower than expected. The modifications to barnes and sewage systems and future increase in animal live weight will permit higher biogas production.

353
THE BIO-GAS PROJECT IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA (Italy) : FIRST RESULTS OF FIVE FULL SCALE PLANTS

* *

**

CORTELLINI L. , PICCININI S. , TILCHE A. Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali - Via Crispi, 3 - 42100 Reggio Emilia (Italy) ENEA - Dip. FARE - TER COM IBI - Via Mazzini, 2 - 40138 BOLOGNA SUMMARY The operation and performance of five full scale plants installed in breeding farms are analyzed in this paper. The digesters were operated at an HRT from 10 to 40 days with pig, pig and cattle and cattle waste. The digesters/ fed by pig waste, gave an average biogas yield of between 0.30 and 0.55 m . K g VSo.d" , 0.80 and 1.20 m .Kg VS .d at an HRT of 10-15 days, at an average organic loading rate of 0.84 - 1.95 Kg VS.m .d , and at a digestion temperature of 28-40C; TS, VS, COD removal was respectively 30-47%, 4657%, 42-59%. One of the plants fed by mixed waste and operated at an organic loading rate of 0.60 - 1.78 Kg VS.m .d gave an average biogas yield of 0.46 m .Kg VSo.d , at an HRT of 20-35 days and at a digestion temperature of 30-34C; TS, VS, COD removal was respectively 35%, 46%, 50%. The experimental plug flow plant operating on cattle waste gave a biogas yield of 0.24 - 0.41 m .Kg VSo.d at an HRT of 24 - 40 days, at an organic loading rate of 2.7 - 4.5 Kg VS.m .d and at a digestion temperature of 33-37C. INTRODUCTION One fourth of the entire national pig population is concentrated in Emilia-Romagna, a Region that represents one twentieth of the Italian land surface. The average farm size is 600 heads; 48% of pig population is on farms larger than 1,000 heads. Therefore, on the one hand many farms have large energy needs, while on the other they have the availabi lity of high energy potential in the waste water. Anaerobic digestion is the technology that recovers energy from such wastes. The Emilia-Romagna Authorities have financed the realization of 4 demonstration full-scale plants in order to monitor: 1) the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process; 2) the technical reliability of the plants sold by industry; 3) their economic convenience; 4) the farmer's capacity to manage a digester. The plants have been installed in farms which differ in size, type of animals bred and management; they are of C.S.T.R. type with different mixing and heating systems. They have been in operation since early 1983. An experimental plug-flow plant on a dairy farm has been brought out and used within the programme. The results given below concern: 1) the efficiency of the digestion process; 2) energy contribution of the plant towards the energy needs of the farm; 3) the electric and thermic consumption of the plant; 4) problems relating to the introduction of the plant on a farm, and solutions relating to this.

354
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The main characteristics of the farms are reported in table I the main characteristics of the plants are reported in table II. TABLE I - Main characteristics of the farms Farm 1 TESTA type of breeding Full cycle pigs live weight (tons) raw,waste waste disposal (m3.d ) 30-40 22-25 60-85 2.5-4 140-160 pollution treatment land spreading land spreading land spreading pollution treatment and

100 180 300 (pigs) 390 (beff 72 410

2 S. MATTEO Dairy with fattening pigs 3 PERUGINA Fattening pigs and beef cattle 4 PELLERANO dairy cattle 5 I.C.S.A. piglet production

cattle)

TABLE II - Main characteristics of the plants Farm type of plant digester mixing working system volume (m3) heating system

gas
storage volume (m3)

biogas

use

single stage with slurry recycling

220

auger and pump

external heating exchangers

50

combined heat and power units

single stage with out slurry recirculation single stage with recirculation of slurry from the post digester plug-flow single stage with out slurry recirculation

350

1260

200 steam pro exter- external nal gas heating duction in lifter exchanger the dairy in the gas boiler lifter inter- periferic 450+600 forage drying nal gas exchangers lifter
internal coils inter- internal nal gas exchanger lifter in the gas lifter

4 5

65
1500

40 200

hot water production combined heat and power unit

The content of Total Solids (TS), Volatile Solids (VS), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Ammonia (NH - N ) , Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Volatile Acids (VFA), pH and Total Alcalinity (TA) in feed, in digestion and in effluent were measured. Analyses for TS, VS, COD, TKN, NH - N were carried out in accordance to Standard Methods (APHA, 1975); VA were determined by steam distillation and titration, TA by titration at pH 3.8. The biogas methane and CO content were measured by IR and CO absorption. Furthermore the plants are equipped with a computerized s y _

355
stem for the continuous recording of data relating to the temperatures of waste, gas and water in different points, the biogas production and consumption, the production and consumption of electric power and hot wa ter, and the CO and CH percentage in biogas. The data obtained will enable us to determine the energy flow of the plants and to evaluate the efficiency of the different heating and mixing systems. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The biogas yield and organic loading rate of the plants are reported in table III. TABLE III Plant (m .Kg"\ s average o Biogas yields, organic loading rate, HRT, digestion temperature of the plants Biogas yield Organic loading
3

HRT
(days)

.d"1)

(m .m

"

.d

j"1,

] (Kg VS .m average 1.95 1.13 0.79 3.60 0.84

.d range

) 11-15 14-16 20-35 24-40 10-15

Temperature CC) 30-40 32-34 30-34 33-37 28-35

range 0.28-0.33 0.45-0.60 0.39-0.53 0.24-0.41 0.33-0.50

average 0.60 0.62 0.40 1.22 0.36

1 2 3 4 5

0.30 0.55 0.46 0.37 0.45

1.70-2.55 0.66-1.69 0.60-1.78 2.70-4.50 0.55-1.12

Biogas yield as reported in the operating conditions given above, shows a rather high level. The lower yield observed in farm 1 is due to the lay-out of the plant. In fact the wastes are loaded into the digester after settling and in this plant the settling tank serves also as a clarifer with the mixing of feed and effluent. The highest yield has been observed in farm 2 with fattening pigs fed on whey and housed on slotted floors. During the first year of operation, plants 2, 3 and 5 were fed with a specific organic loading rate lower than the expected one: therefore the volume of biogas produced is lower than that predicted in relation to the number of animals present. The low organic load fed into the plant is mainly due to stagnation of solids in the pit and in the collection system, to the dilution of manure with cleaning and ground water. In order to rectify these drawbacks different solutions have been studied together with the farmers. The influence of the variations in temperature in the mesophilic range is in evidence in plants 3 and 4 that treat cattle waste. In plant 4 it has been observed that a process temperature lower than 35C determines a much lower speci fie biogas yield. In plants 1, 2 and 5 fed with pig waste no influence of temperature on biogas yield has been observed when kept in the mesophilic range. The average VS, TS and COD removal of the plants is reported in table IV. The low organic removal of VS, TS and COD as shown on plant 3 is due in part to the operation of the post-digester: the sludge from the bottom has not been removed consistently and systematically. In two of the five farms, anaerobic digestion constitutes the first stage in the pollution treatment. The system is composed by digester followed by aerated lagoons (farm 1) or by solid/liquid separation of the effluent and ammonia stripping (farm 5 ) .

356
TABLE IV - VS, TS and COD removal of the plants Plant VS removal

( % )
57

TS removal

( % )

COD removal

< % )

1 2 3 4 5

46(a) - 61(b) 46 (C >

30 ( a L> .

5 5 (b)

1 42 (a! - 61(b)

47
3 5 (c)

59
50<C>

40 49

32 44

~
56

Note: a - digester only b - digester plus settling tank c - primary digester plus post digester On Testa farm biogas in used in two Fiat Totem combined heat and power units. The performance of the Totem is reported in table V. TABLE V - The performances of Totem units Electic power (Kw) Thermal power (Kcal .h , ) . . . Biogas consumption (Nm . h ) CH biogas content ( % ) 11.27 30095 8.94 62

In the period November 82 - October 83 the average Totem electric energy production was 154 Kwh.d representing 81% of the total electric energy requirement (plant and breeding). Heat was used for heating digester. On S. Matteo farm net biogas production is used for the dairy's steam generator. In the period October 83 - June 84 the average biogas production is 210 m .d with 58% used to satisfy the digester heat requirement and 36% used for the dairy's steam generator. On Perugina farm net biogas production is used for drying forage and cereals. The drying machine came into operation in June 84, and has been used up till now in the months of June, July, September and October 84. In the period January-November 84 the average biogas production is 506 m .d and the average biogas used for the digester heat requirements is 277 m .d . The plant's average electric consumption for plants 1,2 and 3 is respectively: 206 wh.m digester.d , 341 wh.m digester, d , 148 wh.m digester.d 4. PLUG-FLOW EXPERIMENTAL PLANT Interesting data were obtained about the heat exchange capacities of the two coils immersed in the still manure, that range from 23 to 46 W.m . C for this experiment. The iron coil showed a lower heat exchan ge capacity in respect to the polyethylene one. This means that in such conditions the exchange material is relatively less important, because the resistance of the manure to heating is very high. The relatively lower coefficient found for the iron pipe can be explained by the fact that the iron coil is in the first part of the reactor where the density of the manure is higher and the bubbling of biogas is lower. The overall efficiency of the heating system is between 80 and 85%. The biogas con

357
sumption used in maintaining a constant temperature ranges from 25 to 65% of the biogas produced, depending on the loading rate and the temperature of the environment. As far as the needs in electric energy are concerned, they are very low, only about 21 kwh/d; 50% are used for the chopping and for the discharge pumps. The concentration of total solids, volatile solids and volatile acids decreases regularly from the beginning to the end of the reactor, showing good plug-flow behaviour of the plant, probably due to the presence of three internal baffles that force the digesting waste to pass over or under them. 5. CONCLUSIONS The monitoring scheme carried out on 5 full-scale plants, 4 demonstrative ones and an experimental one, shows high biogas yield (m .Kg VS .d ) . The anaerobic digestion process is shown to be stable, even when there are falls in digestion temperature, or breaks in the mixing and feeding process. Considerable problems were noted, however, in the manure collection system: stagnation leading to partial digestion of the organic substance, and dilution of the waste by ground or cleaning water. Several methods have been studied to rectfy this and in part put into practice in order to improve working conditions. Improvement techniques are also needed in order to make full use of the energy. REFERENCES - APHA - American Public Health Association (1975) : "Standard Methods for examination of water and waste water", 14th edition, APHA, N.Y. - Bonazzi G., Cortellini L., Piccinini S., Tilche A., (1984): "The Biogas Project in Emilia-Romagna (Italy)", paper presented to the BioEnergy 84 Conference, June 18-21, Goteborg, Sweden. - Chiumenti R. , De Poli F., Gabbi P., Mozzi A. and Tilche A. (1983): "A data acquisition system for the monitoring of anaerobic digesters: design and application", in Proceedings of the Anaerobic Waste Water Treatment Symposium, Noordwijkerout, 23-25 November, 559-572. - Tilche A., De Poli F., Ercoli L., Tesini 0., Cortellini L., Piccinini S.: "An improved plug-flow design for the anaerobic digestion of dairy cattle waste" paper presented to the International Conference" State of the art on biogas technology transfer and diffusion", Cairo, November 17-24, 1984. - Regione Emilia-Romagna, Dipartimento Attivita Produttive Agricoltura e Alimentazione (1983): "Programma di ricerca per la produzione e utiliz zazione di energie integrative in zootecnia". - Regione Emilia-Romagna Dipartimento Attivita Produttive Agricoltura e Alimentazione (1983): "Risultati di due anni di controllo su cinque im pianti di Biogas in Romagna". - Tilche A., De Poli F., Ercoli L., Tesini 0., Cortellini L., Piccinini S. (1984): "Un impianto semplificato di biogas tipo "plug-flow" per li quami bovini", Regione Emilia-Romagna - ENEA, Bologna, 23 pp.

358
FARM EXPERIMENTS OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION TO CONTROL ODOURS FROM SLURRY J.A.M. VOERMANS Institute of Agricultural Engineering, IMAG Wageningen, the Netherlands

Summary Every farmer in the Netherlands needs a permission, according to the nuisance act, before operating. It is possible that this permission includes limitations and conditions according to a restricted emission of malodours. That contains treatment of air and/or slurry. For this treatment there are several technics available. All the possibilities increase the production cost without any effect on sale prices. In the paper attention is paid to the question about the position of the anaerobic digestion between the other technics. Most of the malodorous compounds disappear by anaerobic digestion. To prevent a malodour of the ventilation air a frequent cleaning of the animal house is necessary. Based on calculations in many situations anaerobic digestion will be the cheapest way to meet the conditions of the permission. Practical experiences prove this.

1. INTRODUCTION Environmental pollution is the subject of many political and social discussions in the Netherlands. This is mainly caused by the concentration of the animal husbandry farms close to the villages and cities. There are technical treatments of air and slurry to decrease the odour of it. Anaerobic digestion is one of these. This technology is known from biogasproduction. Most countries in the western world have studied this possibility for renewable energy. A lot of technical problems are solved but on most places it is not possible to produce biogas from farm waste to a competitive price. What is the feasibility for biogas production if there is a need for reduction of the odour emission on the farm? 2. THE SITUATION IN THE NETHERLANDS Since 1984 there is a political and social discussion about the surplus of organic/animal manure and the air pollution, special the acid rain. It are the minerals in the farm waste and the NH3 in the ventilation air, which are in discussion. Calculations (11) based on figures from 1982 show that in the Netherlands there are 10J million pigs, 87 million poultry and 5.2 million of cattle. These animals produce a total amount of 86.5 million tons of slurry. About 30 million tons of this amount is produced in the fields by the grazing cattle. So 56.5 million tons are stored for a certain period. Nearly 40 million tons can be used in the farms where the slurry is produced when there are agricultural limits to the gifts per area. Such limits are based on a positive reaction of the crops to this gift. On this basis about 18 million tons should be transported to other farms. That means about 2000 loads of 40 tons per working day if it is transported by road. Nearly all

359
this slurry must be stored because of the limited period for spreading. This implies emission of odours during storage, transportation and spreading. In a high densitive populated country as the Netherlands it means that there are many situations and periods in which these odours annoyed the people. In the Netherlands each farm must have a permission, according to the nuisance act, to be in operation. In this permission there are limitations and conditions according to the unique location of the farm. The presence of neighbours is of significant influence. So it can be predicted that special investments have to be realized for reduction of malodours from the slurry. To the farmer this can mean a choice between to be or not to be. Reduction of odours results in extra costs and by this way also a reduction of the profitability. There are several technics available to reduce the emission of malodours. These technics can be divided into the following groups. 1. Treatment of the ventilation air - washing - air-washers - filter - biobeds 2. Treatment of the slurry - aeration - anaerobic digestion - separation combined with an (an)aerobic follow-up In this paper attention is paid to the question about the position of the anaerobic digestion between these technics. 3. ODOURS FROM SLURRY Slurry is a mixture of faeces, urine and water, sometimes with some feedrests and/or bedding material. About the composition of the faeces and the urine a lot of information is available. The most important odorous compounds are phenol (C6H5OH), para-cresol (CH3-C6H4-OH), 4 ethylphenol (C2H5-C6H4OH), indole (C8H7N) and skatole (CH3-C8H.6N). Also the volatile fatty acids have an offensive smell, specially the butyric acid(C3H7COOH). The microbial breakdown of proteins in an anaerobic stored slurry results in the presence of the aromatic compounds (Spoelstra). The attempts at increasing the efficiency of labour and capital have led to intensive systems for animal husbandry. Slatted floors with the storage of slurry under it are very common. This is special true for pigs and cattle. Poultry is different. Broilers live on a layer of wood shavings which will be mixed up with the droppings and waste water during the growing period. Most laying hens are housed in cages. The droppings can be processed in different ways. Drying in deeppit houses or on a belt just under the cages are possibilities to reduce the total amount and the smell. On the other hand the..: are also wet storage systems. All these developments in the technology of animal housing result in storage of the manure in such a way that it pollutes the air more or less. 4. REDUCTION TECHNICS In chapter 2 a survey is given of the technics which can reduce the emission of malodorous compounds. 4.1. Treatment of the ventilation air Air treatment means destroying the effects of the presence of slurry in the same space where the animals live. The cause of the presence of the malodours is not touched at all. With both the air-washer and the biobed reductions of 95-99U are reached. These figures are based on the subjective

360
perception of panel members (olfactometry). The costs for these technics are high and mostly expressed as an investment/m^ air.h. Beside the capital costs there are also running costs. Mechanical ventilation is a necessity and extra energy is used to press the air through the washer or the biobed. For this purpose there is not much difference between both technics. For a 500-fattening pighouse the investment is about Dfl. 100.000,-. The annual capital and running costs are about Dfl. 20.000,- or Dfl. 40,- per pig place. For these technics there are nearly no economics of scale because the amount of ventilation air is directly connected to the number of animals. Both the air-washer and the biobed have a maximum load. 4.2. Treatment Reduction direct way. On faeces and the of the slurry of the emission of odours by treatment of the slurry is a one hand this can partly be done by separate storage of the urine. On the other hand by aerobic or anaerobic treatment.

Aerobic_treatment With the oxigen from the air the C from the organic material is burned. C6H126 + 602 6C02 + 6 H 2 + energy So there is a positive energy result, but it costs energy to mix the air through the slurry. In some Danish research work they have tried to recover this energy for heating the farmhouse. Normally the aerobic treatment is just used for destroying the malodorous compounds in the slurry. There is a need for a basin outdoors and no storage of slurry inside. The slurry is washed to the basin by the treated waste. The extra investment for 500 pigs is Dfl. 25.000,-. For larger units it is relative cheaper. The total annual costs (investment and running) are for a 500-pig unit Dfl. 20,-/pig place. For a 1000-pig unit the total costs go down to about Dfl. 11,- per pig place (Poelma, 8 ) . Anaerob ic treatment Since more than 10 years much research is done on the anaerobic digestion from slurry. This research is mainly stimulated by the option of the renewable energy: biogas. But there is also an effect on the presence of the malodorous compounds. In the next chapter more details are presented. Separated storage of faeces and urine Kroodsma (6) studied the use of a filter to separate the urine and the faeces. The main target is to transport the mixture of faeces and some straw to arable farmers and spread the urine on own farmland. But a side effect of direct separation is a reduction of the emission of odours. This separation system is relative expensive, especially in modern pighouses with transverse channels. For a 500-pig unit the extra investment is at least Dfl. 70,- per pig place. The total annual costs are Dfl. 5,- per pig place. In a pighouse with channels in length this system is cheaper and this difference increases when the house is longer. 5. ANAEROBIC DIGESTION During the last 10 years there is published an enormous amount of reports on anaerobic digestion. This paper does not have the intention to x) According to V.d. Hoek (1) the aeration requires at least an input of 36 kWh per pig place per year.

361
summarize all this literature. Just the principles are important. Under anaerobic conditions different types of microbes transported the volatile fatty acids and the aromatic compounds to CH4, C02, H2O and NH4OH. There is also some H2S produced from the digestion of several protein acids (cysteine and methionine). All these endproducts together, known as biogas, have a typical odour, mainly caused by H2S and NH3. Because of the breakdown of the malodorous compounds the slurry has lost its typical smell. 5.1. Biogas yields Biogas plants are designed and managed to optimize the biogas yield. Popular are the fully mixed systems which operate at a temperature of 30-35 C. Depending from the type of slurry (dairy, pigs or poultry) the detention time changes. But fully mixed includes that it comes to an average. So some malodorous compounds will still be found in the effluent. But in the storage after that there will be a further breakdown at a low speed. Economic calculations for biogas plants are based on all the costs but for the yield there is only an evaluation for the biogas. Most plants operate with an economic loss. This loss depends mainly on: . the investment for the total plant, including storage digested slurry, boilers, CPH-unit, piping, electricity connections. . the quality of the processes; the amount of CHA/nr* of digester/day. . the use of the biogas . the price of the replaced energy Calculations (7, 1982) resulted in losses for both dairy and pig units. Table I gives some comprehensive results. Table 1 Some results for different farm types

animal size annual losses from the biogas plant (Dfl.) average per place

da iry 150 90
7.000 9.000 1.500 5.000

fattening pigs breeding and fattening 500 2.500 100/600 x) 150/900 6.500 7.500 1.400 1.600 3.500 3.600

700
1.000

90

20

14

0.6

0.8

x)

sows/pigs

5.2. Odour reduction The reduction of the typical smell of slurry by anaerobic digestion is the result of the breakdown of phenol, p-cresol, 4-ethylphenol, indole, skatole and the volatile fatty acids. Van Velsen (10) concludes that for piggery waste the optimum detention time, with respect to the reduction of the manure odour, is approx. 15 days. He did his experiments with fully mixed systems at 30 C. In practical plants the detention time is at least 15-18 days. The experiences in practice agree with these results. This reduction on its own is not enough, because after digestion the slurry will be stored till the moment that it can be spread on the land. Van Velsen (10) has proved that the concentration of volatile fatty acids and the aromatic compounds decrease during the

362
storage 1 month acid is figures another after digestion. This happens both in winter and summer. Within the concentrations are already at a constant low level. The acetic eliminated quicker at 20 C related to 4 C. There are no similar for dairy slurry available, but there seems no reason to expect reaction.

5.3. Effects during and after spreading Olfactory research was done by IMAG (Harreveld (2)). The result of such research is the number of the air dilution after which 5031 of the panel members is not able to distinguish the fresh clean air from the polluted air. This numer is called the odour threshold. Table 2 gives the results of the thresholds of fresh and digested piggery waste during and after spreading. Table 2 The threshold-values for fresh and digested piggery waste at different periods (h) after spreading thresholds for digested

period after spreading (h)

fresh 1000

0 - spreading 4 8 12 16 20 24 48 72

760 570 430 320 240 180 33 6

320 120 45 16 6 2 0

These results show a clear effect of digestion. The smell after spreading digested slurry can be inconvenient for just a short period. Another striking experience is the grazing habit of dairy cows on a grassfield, partly spread with fresh and partly with digested slurry. There is a significant preference during the first days for the digested slurry. These experiments did not prove a difference in milkyield. As a result of the maintaining acceptability of the grass by the cows one dairy farmer uses nearly no artificial nitrogen on his land any more. In early spring he gives a dosis of about 20-30 ton/ha and during the growing season after each cut or grazing a smaller gift. He is quite satisfied. 6. BIOGAS PLANTS BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITATION On many places the possibilities for animal husbandry farms are restricted because of the emission of odours. In such situations a biogas plant may result in a permission for continuing or increasing the number of animals. From the Netherlands there are some examples. 6.1. Farm Vermeltfoort at Heeswijk-Dinther This farm is now situated between bungalows and beside a football playground. On the farm there are 400 vealcalves, 20 beefcalves and 40.000 guinea fowls. The layout of the farm is given in figure I. The farmer had to reduce the odour emission on penalty of closing. He had to decide between aerobic or anaerobic treatment of the slurry of the vealcalves. He built a 250 m3 digester. The influent in a mixture of the slurry and the litter from the guinea fowls. The biogas is used directly in boilers to heat the houses

363
of the fowls and the water for the vealcalves. There is also a 20 kW CPHunit in operation. Hoeksma (3) calculated that the economic result of this plant was negative. The difference is also the price for the odour reduction. The cost of biogas was Dfl. 0,09 per m-3 higher than the value, based on energy prices. That is one of the best economic results. 6.2. Farm Rijkers at Nistelrode (figure 2) This farm with /0.0UU laying hens and 500 fattening pigs decided to increase the poultry branch. But they did not get permission because of the emission of bad odours. A 950 nw biogas plant offers the opportunity to build a new poultry house. All the produced biogas is used in a 75 kU Catterpillar CPH-unit. At the moment a large part of the electricity is delivered to the grid. The heat is used for warming the office and collection room for the eggs. But there is too much heat. For that reason the farmer bought a press to process the dry droppings of one poultry house. The farm just started so there is still no economic calculation or evaluation. 7. ECONOMICS OF ODOUR REDUCTION There are several ways to reduce the emission of odours. Jongebreur (4) gives in table 3 a survey of the effects of the different technologies. Table 3 method air washer biobed separation of faeces and urine frequently removal of slurry aerobic treatment anaerobic digestion frequent removal combined with anaerobic digestion The effects of different methods for odour reduction effect on ventilation air slurry storage slurry spreading + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

If there is a need for odour reduction on an animal husbandry farm anaerobic digestion is one of the real possibilities. The investment and running costs of the methods, mentioned in table 3, are indicated in previous chapters. An economic calculation for the feasibility of an anaerobic digestion is open for discussion. For our purpose we must valuate the nett output of biogas. Table 1 showed that for a 500-pig unit the annual losses are about Dfl. 7.000,-. These losses are calculated (7) under optimal conditions. When odour reduction is the first goal, losses can be higher. Suppose that 50Z of the produced biogas is not used. The extra losses are 5000 m3 a Dfl. 0,52 - Dfl. 2.600,- higher. So total losses increase to Dfl. 9.600,-. Per pigplace are the costs for odour reduction nearly Dfl. 20,-. For a 2000-pig farm there was calculated a profit with biogas production of Dfl. 4.000,- annual. But if here 50% of the biogas is not produced or used the result will be a loss of Dfl. 6000,-. Odour reduction costs in this case Dfl. 3,- per pigplace annual. If there is a need for clean ventilation air the slurry must be removed out of the house frequently. In existing buildings with storage

364
capacity under a slatted floor the removal of the slurry can be a problem. Keeping the amount of slurry at a low level is to realize without extra cost. For new buildings there are solutions with scrapers in shallow canals. The extra investment is not so high because of the cheaper canals. 8. CONCLUSION On an increasing number of animal husbandry farms there are troubles with pollution by ventilation air and slurry. The typical odour is caused by the slurry. In some situations it is sufficient to treat the ventilation air. In other cases there is also a penalty on the emission of odours during spreading the slurry on the field. For these problems there are several solutions. Anaerobic digestion is one of these. Interest in anaerobic digestion is mainly based on biogas production. All the countries in the western world with the import of oil started research in this field. Nowadays the conclusion is that biogas production is not economically attractive on most of the animal husbandry farms. Biogas production is a real option if there is a need for the reduction of pollution. The total balance is not known exactly but the emission of odours can be reduced till 90%. It is necessary to have no storage of undigested slurry in the house. In many situations anaerobic digestion can be a technical and economical possibility to reduce the typical farm smell. LITERATURE (1) (2) (3) (4) GEELEN, M.A. van en K.W. v.d. HOEK. Stankbestrijdingstechnieken voor stallen in de intensieve veehouderij. Imag publ. 167(1982). HARREVELD, A.Ph. van, De geuremissie tijdens en na het verspreiden van varkensmengmest. Imag rapport 37(1981). HOEKSMA, P. Biogaswinning en -benutting op veebedrijven. Imag publ. 199(1984). JONGEBREUR, A.A. en M.A. van GEELEN, Mogelijkheden voor de preventie en bestrijding van stank. Colloquium Luchtreiniging m.b.v. biologische filters. VROM (1983) Utrecht. KLARENBEEK, J.V. e.a. Geuremissie bij mestvarkensstallen. Imag rapport 48(1982). KROODSMA, W. en H.R. POELMA. Mestscheiding. Imag publ. 209(1985). NN. Biogas op veebedrijven, Toepassingsmogelijkheden en Perspectieven. Imag publ. 176(1982). POELMA, H.R. Investment and cost of aerobic treatment. Personal communication. SPOELSTRA, S.F. Microbial aspects of the formation of malodorous compounds in anaerobically stored piggery waste. VELSEN, A.F.M. van. Anaerobic digestion of piggery waste. Thesis LH, Wageningen (1981). WIJNANDS, J.H.M. and H.H. LUESINK. Een economische analyse van transport en verwerking van mestoverschotten in Nederland. LEI-onderzoekverslag 12(1984).

(5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

365
F i g l : Vermeltfoort farm Gemeente Heeswijk-Dinther

Fig 2 : Rijkers

farm Nistelrode /

Gemeente

366
USE OF METHANOGENIC FERMENTATION TO UPGRADE FARM ANIMAL AND SLAUGHTERHOUSE WASTES I. KLINGER and U. MARCHAIM Kimron Veterinary Institute Beit Dagan and Migal Gallilee Technological Center Israel

Summary Anaerobic thermophilic digestion of farm animal and slaughterhouse wastes were compared to each other especially from the bacteriological point of view. The process is recommended either as a solution for the ecological problems involved with accumulation of animal wastes as well as profitable recycling of this waste.

1. INTRODUCTION The concentration of a large number of farm animals in a limited space as is common in modern farming results in the accumulation of organic waste in big quantities over and above the neutralization capacity of the immediate environment. This problem is magnified in slaughterhouses in urban areas without access to agricultural land that can act as a depot for this material. Slaughterhouses are also the ultimate place for disposal of animals carrying infectious agents which limit the utilization of slaughterhouse wastes. It contains also high levels of solids with more than 80% decomposable organic matter with very high BOD levels. This waste contains enough nutrients to allow multiplication of the original heavy load of microorganisms. This situation creates thus the need to find novel methods for neutralization of such hazardous material accumulating each day (10). ANAEROBIC THERMOPHILIC DIGESTION Anaerobic digestion of organic material has been implemented for many years as a practical method for disposal combined with energy recovery from the digested material (1, 2). Anaerobic fermentation is a process wherein complex organic materials are broken down resulting in the formation of biogas (consisting of methane and carbon dioxide). The speed of the reaction can be increased by elevation of the temperature (3). From the bacteriological point of view, this increase means a change in the active population from mesophilic bacteria (4) (optimal temperature 30-40C) into thermophilic bacteria (optimum 50-60C). This digestion is highly influenced by the activation temperature and other factors such as pH-value, presence of nutrients, presence of oxygen and presence of substances toxic to methane producing bacteria (6). 3. ADVANTAGES OF THE BIOLOGICAL FERMENTATION OF WASTE The b e n e f i t s expected from the Anaerobic Thermophilic Digestion (ATD) of animal waste are as follows: 2.

367
1. Reduction of odours resulting from concentration of animals. 2. Reduction of organic load from the environment.(including sewage) 3. Recycling of the volatile phase as biogas for energy purposes. 4. Recycling of the solid phase as peat substitute. 5. Recycling of pathogen-free waste water. 6. Inactivation of the infective agents present in the waste. Utilization of the solid phase of the fermented material has lately become the main benefit of ATD since intensive digestion results in only the lignocellulose portion of the organic material remaining in the sludge. Following dehydration the dry material now known as "Cabutz" is used as peat-moss substitute in greenhouses and mushroom growing. It was adopted for this purpose probably because of its content of growth promoting factors, its porosity which allows good air penetration, and its good water holding capacity (5, 7, 8 ) . BACTERIOLOGICAL ASPECTS ATD is commonly understood to occur in two stages: acid formation and methanogenesis, which is summarised also in the following data (tables 1 and 2). The normal intestinal bacteria are reduced by 6-7 logarithms from a level of 10' prior to the digestion into a level of 10^ and lower thereafter. Among the components of the intestinal flora coliforms, lactobacilli and enterococci are reduced whilst Clostridium welchii remains at its initial level. The reason for this change in bacterial population is probably due to the combination of unfavorable temperature and formation of fatty acids in the ingested material. Salmonellae were frequently isolated from raw material prior to the ATD process but none from the digested sludge. It is however of particular interest to follow the elimination of Salmonellae from the digested material. For this reason a separate experiment including artificial inoculation with several Salmonella serotypes was performed. The inoculation with Salmonella was at much higher levels than that occurring under field conditions resulting in an elimination of Salmonellae within 24 hours. This was connected with the amount of free fatty acids released during the ATD process (3, 6 ) . SLAUGHTERHOUSE WASTE Slaughterhouse waste is a mixture of animal excreta deposited in the establishment and waste from the slaughtering process such as intestinal contents, sluice water which also include various body fluids such as blood, urine, milk. Due to the high solid content which include 80% or more putrescible organic matter and a high BOD level, ATD does not function similarly to farm animal wastes. In addition there are high variations in the biological, microbiological and chemical composition of intestinal content of various animals brought to slaughter. Some of these differences from the bacteriological point of view are summarized in table 3. Adjustment of the ATD process to digestion of slaughterhouse waste seems to be more complicated than animal waste alone. However this can be solved by the addition of animal waste to the digestors in a ratio of at least 40% animal waste. It means also that adaption of ATD to solve the slaughterhouse waste needs a constant supply of raw material fed into the system. DECONTAMINATION OF WASTE In certain circumstances and especially since slaughterhouse waste is digested, there is a need to disinfect to prevent spread of infectious 6. 5. 4.

368
agents (4). From the economical point of view it is much easier to disinfect prior to the ATD, however the decontamination procedures have to fulfill several requirements in order to be suitable for ATD. a. As we deal with anaerobic digestion there is no possibility of utilization of decontamination by oxidation. b. Because of the large amounts of material handled the price of the decontamination process is of considerable importance. c. The decontamination process should not interfere with the ATD process. d. Materials used should not have any corrosive effect on metals used. Considering these points, the most beneficial method for decontamination seems to be one of the fatty acids released during the ATD process, after examination with and without organic material and in mesophilic or thermophilic temperatures, formic acid was found most effective even in concentration of less than 0.5%.

REFERENCES BUSWELL, A.M. In: L. A. Underkofler and R. J. Hickey [Editors), Industrial Fermentations, Vol. w, Chemical Publishing Co., New York, 518, 1949. (2) HOBSON, P.N., BOUSFIELD, S. and SUMMERS, R. CRC Crit, Rev. Environ. Control, 4: 2, 1974. (3) KIMCHIE, S. High-rate anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes. Ph. D. Thesis, submitted to the Haifa Technion, Israel, 1984. (4) KLINGER, I. et. al. NEFAH annual reports (In Hebrew). Kibbutz Industries Association, 1982, 1983. (5) LEVANON, D.C., DOSORETZ, B., M0TR0, and KAHN, I. Recycling agricultural waste for mushroom casing. Mushroom J., 133, 13, 1984. (6) MARCHAIM, U., and CRIDEN, J. Research and development in the utilization of agricultural wastes in Israel for energy, feedstock fodder, and industrial products. In: D. L. Wise (Ed), "Fuel Gas Production from Biomass", Vol. 1, CRC Press Inc. Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 95120, 1981. (7) MARCHAIM, U. Anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes. The economic lie in the effluent uses. Int. Symposium.on Anaerobic Digestion 83. Boston Ma., 1983. (8) MARCHAIM, U., PERACH, Z., and KIMCHIE, S. An integrated approach to the anaerobic digestion process. In: D. L. Wise (Ed.) "Fuel Gas Systems", CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, Florida, 141, 1984. (9) MCCARTY, P.L. Public Works, 95: 12, 1964. (10) WENTKORTH, R.L., ASHARE, E., and WISE, D.L. Fuel gas production from animal residue, part 1. Res. Rec. and Conservation, 3, 343, 1979. (1)

Table 1: Changes in bacterial population during and after Anaerobic Thermophilic Digestion of cattle waste in a pilot plant

Type of bacteria

Start

batch for 12 days 7.6 ; 0.5 7.1 i 0.3 6.0 : 0.6 2.1 i 0.6 2.5 I 0.7 1.7 i 0.6 3.5 i 0.3

Start 6.7 - 0.4 7.0 - 0.4 5.4 - 0.5 1.4 - 0.5 1.6 - 0.5 1.4 - 0.6 3.3 - 0.4

Plug flow method Middle 6.6 - 1.0 6.9 i 0.6 5.7 - 0.7 1.2 - 0.4 1.3 - 0.5 1.3 - 0.6 3.3 - 0.4

End 7 . i ; 0.7 6.9 i 0.4 6.0 i 0.6 i . 6 : 0.5 i . 7 i 0.7 i . 5 : 0.5 3.4 i 0.4 as

T. A. M. T. A. T. T. An. M. Coliforms Enterococci Lactobacilli S. Red CI.

9.8 - 0.9* 7.0 - 0.6 8.1 - 0.7 7.4 - 0.7 6.1 - 0.7 5.7 - 0.4 3.3 - 0.5

T. A. M. T. A. T. T. An. M. Coliforms S. Red. CI. *

= = = = = =

Total Aerobic Mesophilic bacteria Total Aerobic Thermophilic bacteria Total Anaerobic Mesophilic bacteria Total Coliform bacteria Sulphite Reducing Clostridia - Clostridium welchii Decimal logarithms of counts

Table 2: Changes in bacterial population after Anaerobic Thermophilic Digestion in a full scale plant

Logarithms of bacterial count Type of bacteria Start 9.6 - 1.2* 8.9 - 1.0 8.8 - 0.5 8.7 - 0.7 7.9 t 0.8 6.7 - 0.6 4,8 - 0.4 Stage 1 7.4 - 0.3 7.4 - 0.4 6.9 - 0.5 3.5 - 1.1 4.4 - 1.1 1.6 - 1.1 5.0 - 0.6 Stage 2 7.4 - 0.3 7.4 - 0.4 6.9 - 0.4 2.8 - 1.0 3.8 - 1.0 1.7 - 1.0 5.0 - 0.5

T. A. T. T. A. M. T. An. M. C. Conforms Enterococci Lactobacilli S. Red. CI.

Decimal logarithms of counts

Table 3: Bacterial counts of rumen content collected in slaughterhouses Cows lower 6.4 3.7 6.6 3.7 4.3 2.3 1.3 5.8 7.8 5.S 7.5 4.9 6.5 4.6 2.0 7.5 Calves lower 7.1 3.2 6.4 3.8 4.7 4.6 1.7 6.5

upper T. A. M. T. A. T. T. An. M. Coliforms Enterococci Lactobacilli S. Red. CI. 10.0* 8.0 9.0 6.8 9.0 7.0 2.8 8.7

X + + + + + + + +

upper 2.0 2.3 1.5 0.9 2.3 1.2 0.7 1.4 8.4 7.0 8.1 6.2 7.2 6.4 2.5 7.9

7.7 - 0.7 5.4 - 2.0 7.3 - 0.7 5.2 - 1.2 6.0 - 1.2 o.ssi 0.9 2.0 - 0.2 7.0 * 0,6
-J

pH

Decimal logarithms of bacterial counts

372
LATEST CHEMICAL SLURRY HANDLING METHODS Dr. I. BOLONI and Gy. M E S Z X R O S National Institute of Agricultural Engineering Hungary Summary An overwhelming majority of large-scale stock breeding farms built at the end of the sixties, beginning of the seventies in Hungary was operating by gravitational manure removal. Characteristic for the great amount of water usage is that on a pig farm of 10 000 head a daily amount of 150-200 m slurry was produced with a very low, 0.4-3 p.c. dry matter content. The handling, disposal of the slurry was not solved, it was stored for a long time generally in large ground basins. During the storage parasites were rapidly breeding, the groundwater polluted and the environment loaded by a strong smell. For the reduction of environmental pollution the following experimental slurry handling process has been developed resulting in a powerful phase decomposition. The liquid phase a transparent, clear, practically odourless liquid can be used for irrigation without blocking off the soil pores. The precipitated, filtered solids can be utilized as organic manure containing suitable nutrients, by the traditional technology.

1. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS The essence of the first phase of the process is that homogenized, rich in dissolved organic matter slurry coming from the pig farm will be chemically and mechanically handled in order to separate the solids and to reduce its polluting effect. Separating the colloid particles precipitated in floccules against the effect of chemicals it will be delivered into filter-containers where it will be sedimented for 3 weeks. The dry matter content of the sedimented solids increases to about 25 per cent. The liquid phase flowing through the filter-wall of the container will be led back to the system. The filtered, solid phase can be utilized : - as organic manure by using in the field, - after drying and adding fertilizers to it by marketing in trade. The liquid phase will be desinfected by formaldehyde, then led into a transitory storage, from where it can be sprinkled onto the plant cultures when required or be reused for the flushing of the manure gutter. The chemical treatment is carried out in the following way : - adding hydrate of lime the reaction of the slurry is increased to over pH 12, hereby ensuring a significant pre-desinfection. The hydrate core of the colloid particles will open, that enables gravitational settling. At the same time the unsoluble Ca and Mg salts and phosphates are settled and precipitated. - adding polyelectrolite (Praestol) and ferric sulfate (II). It promotes further flocculation and separation of sediments. The reaction will be restored to pH 7-8. The liquid phase coming out of the settling tanks is a very clear transparent fluid. - adding formaldehyde the desinfection of the liquid phase is promoted.

373
The experimental plant consists of two technological lines of equal purpose and construction. From the central collecting pit of the pig farm slurry is conveyed by a plunger pump into the homogenized basin of 1300 m volume. For the filtering of the coarse foreign matters in the slurry a steel grid is mounted onto the inner wall of the basin. The pump situated in the machine house beside the basin performs the homogenization of the slurry and delivers it to the treating lines. These equipments were established parallel with the construction of the pig farm. The slurry flows first into the liming reactors set up in line and then into the settling tanks. Over the steel tanks there is a treatment footway made of steel plates where the feeding units for ferric sulfate and polyelectrolite are situated. The solid phase collecting at the lower part of the settling tanks will be discharged by a screw pump into filtering-settling containers. The liquid phase flowing away from the upper part of the tank will be desinfected by formaldehyde and delivered into a container by plunger pump. For the filtering of the settled solid phase filter containers are used. The frame of the containers was made of rolled section steel, its sides covered with sleazy plastic sackcloth. The containers stand on concrete floor, their top is open. The volume of each container is 10 m . After filtering, the side walls of the containers will be demounted, set up at a new place and restart their repeated fill-up. The flow diagram of the technology is illustrated in Fig. 1.

11

15

12

r^ Er13

1 . / Pig farm
2./ Elevating pit 3./ Slurry tank for homogenization and feeding 4./ Screw pump 5./ Clear water pump 6./ Storage tank for purified liquid phase 1.1 Liming reactor 8./ Recycle pump 9./ Chemical feeder 10./ Polyelectrolyte recirculation pump 11./ Polyelectrolyte storage 12./ Vacuum pump for feeding ferric sulfate 13./ Ferric sulfate storage 14./ Chemical feed pump 15./ Compressor unit 16./ Clarifier 17./ Sludge container 18./ Sludge pump 19./ Flocculator 20./ Sludge filter containers 21./ Formaldehyde feeding 22./ Effluent elevating pit 23./ Excess liquid collection pit 24./ Excess liquid feed pump

7y

Fig. 1 : Flow diagram of the chemical slurry handling

375
2. TECHNICAL DATA Volume of the collecting-homogenizing basin Volume of the lime-hydrate reactors Volume of the clarifier Volume of the ferric sulfate Volume of the polyelectrolite storage bin Volume of the storage tank for the purified liquid phase Volume of the flocculator Volume of the sludge filter containers, each

12 and 28 12 3 1

1300 m.

m. m. m. m

300 m. 1.6 m, 10 m

3. TEST RESULTS During the tests the inner characteristics of the raw slurry, the purified liquid and solid phases were determined and the performance intake of the technological equipment was measured. The biological effect of the purified substance has been controlled by germinating trials. The test results of the inner characteristics are shown in Table 1. Table 1 INNER CHARACTERISTICS

Characteristics

Unit Untreated slurry

Measured value Treated liquid ph. Treated solid phase

Treated slurry per day pH kg/m Dry matter content Organic matter content N P K Aerob bacteria Coloform germ number Fungi CCD

147
40.6 2.14 0.70 0.11 0.26 5.3x10 1.1x10 1.2x10^ 6.3x10

7.9

6.2

2.26 0.76 0.38 0.004 0.13 1.6x10^ 1.2xl0g 6.7x10 4.4x10

10.5 25-50 15.10 1.30 0.95 0.26 28.2x10. 3.8x10! 5.7x10! 31x10'

Beside the 61 kW total performance, the specific performance projected to the amount of treated slurry amounts to 0.41 kW per m . The specific electric energy consumption per cubic meter : 2.14 kWh. For the purification of 1 m raw slurry during the purification process the following chemicals were used : 6 kg hydrate of lime (CaO) 1 kg formaldehyde 0.5 kg ferric sulfate 40 g polyelectrolite (Preastol)

376
For the operation of the plant 2 workers per shift are needed. In case of continuous operation the employment of 5 persons is. required. On the basis of the above mentioned facts the treatment of 1 m slurry requires 0.12 man hours. During the germination trials 400-400 pieces of tomato seeds were applied. As nutrient liquid raw slurry, purified liquid phase diluted with water in ratio of 1:5 and tap water as control has been used. On the sixth day of treatment 34 % of the total seed germinated on the filterpaper moistured with raw slurry, 95 % on the filterpaper moistured with purified liquid phase, while in the control sample with tap water 68 per cent. On the basis of aforesaid it can be stated that seed germination has been more advantageously influenced by the purified liquid phase as by the other two. The results of the hygienic tests are advantageous. Only a minimal quantity of coliform bacteria, no enterococci and a minimal quantity of fungi can be found in the purified liquid phase. Salmonella could be revealed neither in the untreated, nor in the purified liquid phase as well as in the filtered solid phase. At the same time the COD value of the purified liquid phase amounted to 4-5000 mg/lit is high and therefore cannot be discharged into live water. From the results of the germination tests one could draw the conclusion that the liquid phase does not contain any inhibitor and thus can be used for irrigation of field plants and as a consequence of its advantageous biological condition can be re-used for flushing the manure gutter. The described process of the experimental chemical treatment of slurry requires a significant investment. During our economic analysis it was determined that the process can be applied only with high operating costs as a consequence of the high amortization cost and continuous expenditure. For the sake of comparison a relative cost factor is submitted, according to which the treatment of 1 m raw slurry by the said process requires the return of nearly 2 kg produced pork. For the reduction of such a high cost demand the return from sales of the solid phase could serve, but again requires a suitable market and additional investment and therefore the propagation of the process cannot be taken into consideration under the present conditions.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations on olfactometric measurements The conclusions and recommendations for further work arising from the FAO/EEC joint workshop on odour prevention and control of organic sludges and livestock farming

378
RECOMMENDATIONS ON OLFACTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS J.H. Voorburg Government Agricultural Wastewater Service Arnhera

1. INTRODUCTION In the working party on sludge treatment the emission of odours is one of the problems being studied. In order to pay more attention to odour measurement a subgroup was formed. This subgroup made an inventory of the excisting guidelines and prescriptions for olfactometric odour measurement. The results of this inventory are reported in the papers by J. Hartung, M.Hangartner and J.H. Voorburg. During the sessions devoted to odour measurement the experiences of experts ware discussed and evaluated. As a follow-up of the discussions a small group of experts, meeting under the name "the Rosewarnegroup" agreed with these recommandations. The members of this Rosewarnegroup are A.M. Bruce, Water Research Centre Stevenage (UK). M. Hangartner, Institut fur Hygiene und Arbeitsphysiologie, Zurich(Sw). J. Hartung, Institut fur Tierhygiene, Hannover (F.R.G.). P.L'Hermite, C.E.C., Brussels. E.P. Koster, Vakgroep Psychische Funktieleer, Utrecht (NL). R.L. Moss, Warren Spring Laboratory, Hertfordshire (UK). M. Paduch, Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, Dusseldorf (F.R.G.) H.M.J. Scheltinga, Staatstoezicht op de Volksgezondheid, Arnhem (NL). M.F. Thai, Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Fontenay aux Roses (F). V. Thiele, Landesanstalt fur Immissionsschutz, Essen (F.R.G.). J.H. Voorburg, R.A.A.D., Arnhem (NL),(Chairman). H. Wijnen, D.G.M.H.-L., Leidschendam (NL). These recommendations are produced to formulate minimum conditions for research workers,organisations and industries, who wish to have consistent results and measurements which can be compared with odour measurements in other laboratories and other countries. Also laboratories beginning with odour measurements are advised to start at least at this level. Improving an olfactometer into a more consistent and more sensitive one means that the results of earlier measurements are loosing a part of their value. In all research work, the set-up of the experiments, the sampling technique and the analytical methods ask for careful consideration and much common sense. This holds especially for olfactometric measurements. Olfactometers are used to assess the concentration of odour emissions. An olfactometer is a device which dilutes the odorous air to be tested,with odour-free air. These dilutions are offered to a panel in order to determine the odour threshold. So the human nose is the sensor and this means that many limitations are imposed by the human factor. In this connection a warning is given against measurement of samples containing harmful substances.

379
Even with a rather accurate olfactometer one should realise that measuring one compound with the same person over some days may give a variation with a factor 32. SOME DEFINITIONS Odour concentration expressed in odour units per cubic meter (O.U."m~3)is the number of dilutions to the detection threshold.(The odour concentration of the undiluted sample being at threshold level is 1 O . n / m ' O The individual odour threshold is that concentration which is just perceived by the subject in 50% of the cases in which it is presented to him. The group threshold is the concentration that is just preceived by 50$ of the panel members. 3. SAMPLING The materials to be used should be inert. This means absorption and desorption should be avoided. There should be no reaction with the sample, and the material should not change the odour. Some examples of materials to be used for the probe, the tubes and the valves are: - PTFE (polytetrafluorethylene), - stainless steel, - glass. Preflushing during half an hour is recommended, especially in the case of long tubes. Predilution should be provided in order to prevent condensation. The sample should be representative taking into account whether it is a fluctuating or a constant source. In the case of static sampling, at least two samples should be taken. Sampling by concentration on an absorbent is not recommended unless further research proves it to be reliable. In the case of static sampling, the material of the bag should have the same properties as given before and, moreover, should suffer no sample losses by diffusion. Good experiences have so far been made with PFTE, TEDLAR and Polyamid bags. One should be careful with the re-use of the bags. The volume of the sample will be determined by the air delivery rate to the olfactometer, the number of presentations and the concentration of the sample. Transport and storage time should be as short as possible with a maximum of 2k hours. The bag should be kept in the dark at a temperature sufficient to prevent condensation. In case of new types of odour emissions, the reliability of the bag should be tested. The same holds for new bag materials. If a dust filter is required, it should be in front of the olfactometer and not in front of the sampler. Experiments should be carried out to demonstrate that the properties of the odour have not been changed by the filter. Glass fibre filters are in use in Germany (LIS, Essen) and in the Netherlands (MT/TNO, Apeldoorn).

380
4. OLFACTOMETER

Only dynamic systems should be used. The materials to be applied should have the same properties as given under "sampling". The construction should prevent losses of odorants and uncontrolled intake of clean air due leakage. The clean air should be odour-free as judged by each member of the panel. We recommend synthetic air or ambient air filtered with charcoal followed by a dust filter, to remove charcoal particles. The tubes or sniffing ports in use have various designs. The main condition is that the panelist should be supplied with the minimum breathing volume flow and that he should not inhale air from outside the sniffing port. In present practice,,there are volume flows between 16 and 170 1. mnn~ (0.96 - 10 m . h~ ). Forced-choice techniques (two or more tubes, one containing the odour and the others only odourless air) and yes/no techniques (one tube) are used. The forced-choice technique is the more sensitive one. The results obtained should be corrected for guessing following standard procedures:Pobs - Pchance .__ Pcorr = _ =r x 100 100 - Pchance in which Pcorr = Pcorrected. Pchance= the percentage correct observations obtained by mere guessing (50$ in the case of 2 tubes) Pobs = Percentage observed. Calibration of the volume flows in the olfactometer should be done regulary. The frequency depends on: -construction of the olfactometer, -frequency of olfactometer transport, -degree of pollution of the sampled air, -working situations (dirt, humidity, etc.). Calibration can be done with a tracer gas, e.g. methane. Once a year, a standard experiment should be carried out with a large panel and H S as well as n-butanol as odorants. Cleaning is done with warm air, steam or, if possible, by washing after dismantling. Special attention should be paid to cleaning after working under dirty conditions. 5. PANEL The following background conditions are important: -The test area should be odour-free. -The room should be well ventilated (at least 6 times per hour). -The test should be carried out at room temperature and with normal humidity (40 to 70&). There should be comfortable surroundings with no external stimuli such as smoke, noise, perfume, etc. No tests should be carried out within half an hour after a meal. The test procedure: There should be an independent panel leader. During the actual assessment there should be no communication among the panel members, and the communication between leader and panel should be very restricted. The panelists should be motivated (interested in the job). Information about the performance of the panelist should only be given afterwards.

381
Fatigue should be prevented. In every hour, the panelist should always have a rest of at least 15 minutes. The presentation can be at random or in ascending steps. Descendingseries should not be used (risk of adaptation). The size of the dilution steps, i.e. the ratio between two adjacent dilutions, should be between 1.5 and 3The utmost exposure time to the stimulus is 15 seconds. The interstiinulus interval should be sufficient to avoid adaptation of the panelist to the odour and sufficient to allow the olfactometer to provide the new stimulus. This can be attained with a cycle time of 1 minute (cycle time = exposition time plus interval). The number of presentations (dilution steps) per panelist and series should be at least 5- The steps should be located around the threshold expected and overlap the range between less than 16$ and more than 8h% detection of presented stimuli. The number of test series should be at least two (one replicateX The group threshold should be calculated .as the geometric mean of the observations or by graphical evaluation. Standard mathematical procedures should be followed. Geometric means: the dilution at which the response changes from no perception to perception has to be determined for each test series. After that the geometric means of the so defined dilution has to be calculated. Graphical evaluation: the distribution of the frequency of perceptions as a function of dilution has to be determined. The evaluation can be performed using frequencies before or after probit transformation. The size of the panel: The following minimum numbers of the panelists are required: a)*16 panelists to measure a representative threshold, b ) * 8 panelists for all practical measurements, c ) * k panelists in case of comparative judgements. Selection of panelists Panelists should be screened and trained. They should be familiar with the test procedure. This means that at least one series with H S should be carried out. If possible, more extended tests with more components are recommended. Only individuals between 16 and 50 years of age who have a normal sense of smell and can follow simple instructions should be included in the panel. Persons with an erratic judgement have to be excluded from the panel.

382
THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER WORK ARISING FROM THE FAQ/EEC JOINT WORKSHOP ON ODOUR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ORGANIC SLUDGES AND LIVESTOCK FARMING V.C. NIELSEN Co-ordinator of the workshop for the FAO sub-networks 2 and 3, Waste Unit, ADAS, MAFF Reading. Summary The workshop studied three aspects of odour nuisance arising from the agricultural use of organic sludges and livestock farming. These were odour measurement, prevention and control systems. The EEC expert group on Odours, organised the sessions on odour measurement by olfactometry, their report is given separately. The FAO sub-networks organised the sessions on other odour measurements, prevention and control systems. The topics covered by FAO included measurements of odour offensiveness, biochemical and chemical tests, odour prevention systems in livestock buildings, treatment of odorous air emissions from livestock buildings by biofilters, control systems for liquid agricultural manures by aeration and anaerobic digestion, odour prevention and control of stored manures and during land spreading operations. The effect of dust on odour concentrations from livestock buildings was also reported on. Recommendations for further research and development work covered all the topics mentioned above. The workshop agreed that enough information was available to draw up recommendations from which guidelines could be made for specific aspects of odour prevention and control. Farm

The Objectives of the Workshop were: a. To agree guidelines and standards for odour measurement techniques, to enable quantitive measurements of odour emission concentrations by Olfactometry and other methods for offensiveness and marker compounds. b. To evaluate and describe livestock production systems, which have low levels of odour emission and which have low energy demands, while improving livestock welfare. c. To develop methods for quantifying odour reduction by aerobic and anaerobic treatment of liquid manures. Also to describe the most successful systems available. d. To evaluate odour reduction from livestock buildings by the use of biological air filters. e. To evaluate the role of dust in livestock buildings and its effect on the transmission of odours and pathogenic micro-organisms. Conclusions - Odour Measurements The EEC expert group on Odours together with members of the FAO sub-network discussed standardisation of olfactometric measurements. There was agreement on the general principles involved on the:-

383
The collection of samples, and the volume collected. The storage of samples, re length of time, temperature, etc. The organisation of the odour panels, selection of members, length of time and number of samples offered. Choice of odour concentrations. d. Methods of testing the accuracy of the Olfactometer. e. Handling of results and statistical analysis. f. Degree of accuracy required and use of the results. The recommendations of this group will be published as a guideline on Olfactometry. The joint session of both groups discussed the use of instrumental methods for evaluating odours, it was agreed that these methods could have advantages in terms of cost and labour input. In some cases identification of the odorous compounds was necessary to ensure that the correct treatment system is used. Cross reference to olfactometric measurements is necessary to ensure a good correlationship between the instrumental results, offensiveness ratings and odour concentration by panels. The use of simple, cheap tests to obtain the supernatant B0D5 and total organic acids of slurries were shown to provide useful indicators of potential odour nuisance. These tests were particularly applicable to assess the offensiveness of slurries before and after aerobic treatment. The tests can therefore be used to indicate how successful treatment has been. Odour Prevention Systems in Livestock Buildings Air drying of poultry manure on the collection belts in the building reduced the moisture content of the manure to 45 per cent. Drying also reduced odour concentration significsntly. The dried manure required less storage spsce and composted naturally. When the manure is stored under cover composting reduced the moisture content to 35 per cent snd sgsin reduced the volume to be handled. Further development work will be carried out on warming the inlet air in cold weather and on controlling composting odours. A study on the effects of insulating broiler house floors to reduce odour emission levels and improve broiler carcass quality indicated that there was an improvement to the concentration of odour emissions for four weeks, then a decline to odorous emissions. Carcass quality was much improved by insulating floors. The study will continue to develop a floor which can be used on farms. Increased interest in animal welfare has drawn attention for the need for improved bedding in livestock pens and houses. A study comparing peat with straw and other materials for bedding dairy cows has shown that it has advantagea over straw in that it absorbs ammonia and can absorb large volumes of wster. Development of better peat harvesting methods to reduce dust concentrations and handling problems in buildings is required. The separation of faecea and urine beneath slatted floors in pig buildings by mechanically operated mesh belts has been shown to reduce odour emissions in the building and from the ventilation outlets. The system has other advantages in that the collection channels are much shallower than conventional channels and that welfare straw can be given to the pigs without blocking the slurry system. The system is now in use on farms. a. b. c.

384
Odour control by covering slurry stores can be successfully used in situations where stores are close to neighbouring houses. There are a range of covers available from very cheap plastic sheeting lasting one winter to well made covers costing more but lasting up to ten years. Treatment of Liquid Manures (Slurries) 1. Aerobic Treatment Papers on the treatment of pig slurries indicated that aeration was successful in removing odours. A range of treatments were described including:a. treatment after storage to remove odour and nitrogen compounds. This operated as a batch system, treatment being carried out immediately before land spreading. b. Continuous treatment systems with variable retention times depending on whether the slurry was to be immediately spread or stored before spreading were also described. Research is continuing to develop low energy, low oxygen systems with a range of retention times. The objective to reduce the cost of treatment and give the operator a range of options to suit his cropping programme. Anaerobic Digestion Papers indicated that efficiently run systems could control odours. The most efficient utilisation of biogas was as a fuel for domestic and industrial hot water. The economics of the system were dependent on the size of the plant. Experience in the Netherlands indicated that small plants run at a loss as far as returns from biogas are concerned. Utilisation of the biogas to obtain maximum benefit is difficult to achieve on most livestock farms. There is a need for far greater control of the process under farm conditions, for better information on the choice of plant, its management and for simple instrumentation or tests to indicate to users how the plant is operating. Guidelines and information on the most economic method of utilising biogas on individual farms is required. Odour Control Land Spreading Injection of liquid manures (slurries) and sewage sludges significantly reduces odour emissions. Research on the injectors has reduced seepage and improved utilisation of plant nutrients without major damage to grass swards. Other work has demonstrated that there is very good control of odours both during and after spreading and only a 10 to 1585 increase in spreading time per load. Improvements in wheel design and weight distribution have allowed machines to be used on land which is just below capacity. The method is becoming more popular. Biofilters The full potential use of biofilters for cleaning air from livestock buildings, treatment plants and emissions from chemical industry have yet to be exploited. The papers presented produced proof of the efficiency of these filters to remove odour emissions from odorous air streams. Research and Development work is required to reduce the costs of construction and to find materials to which will 2.

385
not deteriorate quickly. Work is required to reduce the large surface areas required at present. The papers presented quantified and characterised dust from pig and poultry buildings. They also described the hazards to livestock and workers health due to the carriage of micro-organisms, smell and reactive chemical agents. So far there has been little research and development work on dust collection systems which are self cleaning and can be cheaply installed in livestock buildings. The papers suggest that improved livestock environment by dust removal can have an economic advantage in terms of earlier marketing of pigs. The effect of welfare bedding on dust concentrations in livestock buildings has not yet been quantified. The information available in the papers presented at the workshop can now be used to make recommendations on odour prevention and control which can be used as a basis for guidelines for farmers. The recommendations will be drawn up and circulated for comment by the participants of the workshop. Recommendations for further research and development 1. Inhouse poultry manure drying to improve drying during very cold weather. 2. Improve odour control during composting process of air dried poultry manure. 3. Continuing development of farm scale cheap insulation of broiler house floors to reduce odours and improve broiler welfare and carcass quality. 4. Continue development work using new materials to obtain cheap and effective covers for both slurry and solid manure stores, which will contain odours and prevent rainwater runoff and avoid water pollution. 5. Aerobic treatment, develop low energy, low oxygen input systems. Develop systems which prevent odour regeneration after treatment to allow storage for optimum use by crops. 6. Anaerobic digestion develop cheap simple systems, to operate more reliably with improved gas yields. To develop better methods of utilisation of both the biogas and treated manure while maintaining odour control. 7. Develop injection systems which have a lower power requirement while effectively controlling odour. To develop better surface manure and slurry spreaders which have a low trajectory while maintaining evenness of spread. 8. Develop cheaper construction materials for biofilters, to develop filters which require less land area. To find cheap, simple, self cleaning dust filters for biofilters. 9. To develop inhouse dust control systems for livestock to improve the welfare of workers and livestock and reduce dust emission from buildings. Dust

387
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS BONAZZI, G. Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali Via Crispi 3 I - 42100 - REGIO EMILIA BRUCE, A.M. Water Research Centre Elder Way UK - SGI 1TH - STEVENAGE HERTS CLARKSON, C. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Farm Waste Unit 79-81 Basingstoke Road UK - RG6 OEF - READING - BERKS DIAPER, J. School of Environmental Science University of Bradford UK - BD7 1DP - BRADFORD - West Yorks DOBBELAERE, A. Rijksstation voor Landbouwtechniek Van Gansberghelaan 115 B - 9220 - MERELBEKE EVANS, M.R. West of Scotland Agricultural College Department of Microbiology Auchincruive UK - KA6 5HW - AYR, SCOTLAND FRIMAN, R.M. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Farm Waste Unit 79-81 Basingstoke Road UK - RG6 OEF - READING - BERKS HALL, J.E. Water Research Centre Medmenham Laboratory Henley Road Medmenham P.O. Box 16 UK - SL7 2HD - MARLOW, BUCKS HANGARTNER, M. HARDWICK, D.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Great Westminster House Horse Ferry Road UK - SW1P 2AE - LONDON HARTUNG, Institut Bunteweg D - 3000 J. fur Tierhygiene 17P - HANNOVER 61

HOLMVANG, P. Central Institute for Industrial Research Forskningsveien 1 Blindern N - 0371 - OSLO 3 HOMANS, W.J. Institut fur Siedlungswasserbau Abteilung Biologie Universitat Stuttgart Bandtale 1 D - 7000 - STUTTGART

HUME, I.H. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Farm Waste Unit 79-81 Basingstoke Road UK -RG6 OEF - READING - BERKS JOHNSON, G.L. Finham Regional Laboratory Severn Trent Water Authority St Martin's Road Finham UK - COVENTRY WARWICKS KLARENBEEK J.V. I.M.A.G. Postbus 43 NL - 6700 AA WAGENINGEN

I n s t i t u t flir Hygiene und

Arbeitsphysiologie Clausius Str. 21 CH - 8092 - ZURICH

KLINGER, I. Migal Galilee Technological Centre South Industrial Area IL - 10200 - KIRYAT SHMONA

388
KOSTER, E.P. Vakgroup Psychische Funktieleer RUV Varkensmarkt 2 NL - 3511 BZ - UTRECHT KROODSMA, W. Building Division IMAG Institute of Agricultural Engineering Mansholtlaan 10-12 NL - 6708 PA - WAGENINGEN LANG, J. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Great Westminster House Horse Ferry Road UK - SW1P 2AE - LONDON LE ROUX, N. Warren Spring Laboratory Gunnels Wood Road Stevenage UK - SGI 1TH - HERTFORDSHIRE L'HERMITE, P. Commission of the European Communities 200 rue de la Loi B - 1049 - BRUSSELS MANNEBECK, H. Institut fur Landw. Verfahrenstechnik der Universitat Kiel Olshausenstr. 40-60 D - 2300 - KIEL MOSS, R.L. Warren Spring Laboratory Gunnels Wood Road Stevenage UK - SGI 1TH - HERTFORDSHIRE MOULSLEY, L. National Institute of Agricultural Engineering Wrest Park Silsoe UK - MK45 4H5 - BEDFORD NIELSEN, V.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Farm Waste Unit 79 - 81 Basingstoke Road UK - RG6 OEF - READING - BERKS

NILSSON, N.C. Dept. of Farm Buildings University of Agriculture P.O.B. 625 S - 22006 - LUND NOREN, 0. Swedish Institute of Agricultural Engineering Box 7033 S - 750 07 - UPPSALA PADUCH, M. Verein Deutscher Ingenieure Postfach 1139 D - 4000 - DUSSELDORF 1 PELTOLA, I. TyStehoseura SF - 05200 - RAJAMAKI RYDEN, J. Grassland Research Institute Hurley, Maidenhead UK - SL6 5LR - BERKSHIRE

MEJER, G.J. Institut f. landtechnische Grundlagenforschung der F.A.L. Bundesallee 50 D - 3300 - BRAUNSCHWEIG MESZAROS, G. National Institute of Agricultural Engineering Postafioi 103 Tessedik S UTCA 14 H - 2101 - G0D0LL0

389
SCHAMP, N. Laboratory of Organic Chemistry Faculty of Agricultural Sciences Coupure Links 533 B - 9000 - GENT SCHELTINGA, H.M.J. Staatstoezicht op de Volksgezondheid Pels Rijckenstraat 1 P.O. Box 9013 NL - 6800 DR - ARNHEM SCHIRZ, S. KTBL Bartningstrasse 49 D - 6100 - DARMSTADT STORHAUG, R. AQUATEAM Norwegian Water Technology Centre AS THIELE, V. Landesanstalt f. Immissionsschutz Wallneyer Str. 6 D - 4300 - 2SSEN 1

THOMPSON, N. Meteorological Office Bracknell UK - BERKSHIRE T00G00D, S. Water Research Centre Elder Way Stevenage UK - SGI 1TH - HERTFORDSHIRE TOWNSEND, M.G. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Wild Life Biology Toby Jug Site Tolworth UK - SURREY VAN GEELEN, M. Building Division IMAG Institute of Agricultural Engineering Mansholtlaan 10-12 NL - 6708 PA - WAGENINGEN

P.O. Box 6593 - RodeleSkka

Trondheimsvelen 84-86 N - 0501 - OSLO 5 STUART, I. National Institute for Agricultural Engineering Wrest Park Silsoe UK - MK45 4H5 - BEDFORD

TERMONIA, M. Instituut voor Scheikundig Onderzoek MiniBterie van Landbouw 5 Museumlaan B - 1980 - TERVUREN THACKER, F.E. West of Scotland Agricultural College Department of Microbiolgy Auchincruive UK - KA6 5HW - AYR, SCOTLAND THAL, F. Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique Institut de Protection et SQrete Nucleaire B.P. 6 F - 92260 - FONTENAY AUX ROSES

VAN ZUIDAM, D.M. Ministerie van VROM Air Directorate, Div. Air Quality Postbus 450 NL - 2260 MB - LEIDSCHENDAM VOERMANS, J.A.M. Building Division IMAG Institute of Agricultural Engineering Mansholtlaan 10-12 NL - 6708 PA - WAGENINGEN VOORBURG, J.H. Rijks Agrarische Afvalwater Dienst Kemperbergerweg 67 NL - 6816 RM - ARNHEM

390
WIJNEN, H. Ministerie van VROM Air Directorate, Div. Air Quality Postbus 450 NL - 2260 MB - LEIDSCHENDAM WILLIAMS, A.G. Farm Building Division National Institute of Agricultural Engineering Wrest Park Silsoe UK - MK45 4H5 - BEDFORD WILLIAMS, M.L Warren spring Laboratory Gunnels Wood Road Stevenage UK - SGI 1TH HERTS

391

INDEX OF AUTHORS

BAINES, S., 273 BOLONI, I., 372 BONAZZI, G., 251, 347 BRUCE, A.M., 2

NIELSEN, V.C., 8, 382 NOREN, 0., 207, 234 ODAM, E.M.

284

CARPENTER, G.A., 333 COPELLI, M., 251 CORTELLINI, L., 347, 353 CUMBY, R.J., 258 DE ANGELIS, S., 251 DIAPER, J., 131

PAGE, J.M.J., 284 PELTOLA, I., 181 PICCININI, S., 347, 353 PUNTER, P.H., 146 RYDEN, J.C., 33 SCHAEFER, J.,146 SCHAMP, N., 153 SCHIRZ, S., 241 SELVIAH, C M . , 258 SHAW, M., 258 STORHAUG, R., 12

EIKUM, A.S., 12 ESTEBAN TURZO, P., 343 EVANS, M.R., 273, 307

GUTTIEREZ SALGUERO, J., 343 HALL, J.E., 194 HANGARTNER, M., 55 HARDWICK, D.C., 21 HARTUNG, J., 44, 321 HOLMVANG, P., 81 JOHNSON, G.L., 296 KLARENBEEK, J.V., 113 KLINGER, I., 366 KOSTER, E.P., 86, 146 KRAUSE, K.-H., 99 KROODSMA, W., 166, 213 VAN GEELEN, M.A., 238 VAN LANGENHOVE, H., 153 VAN OUWERKERK, E.N.J., 175 VOERMANS, J.A.M., 175, 358 VOORBURG, J.H., 27, 52, 378 THACKER, F.E., 307 THAL, M.F., 78 THIELE, V., 61 THOMPSON, N., 227 TILCHE, A., 347, 353 TOOGOOD, S.J., 131 TOWNSEND, M.G., 284

MAIWALD, K.D., 146 MANNEBECK, H., 94, 188 MARCHAIM, U., 366 MATYAS, L., 336 MEJER, G.-J., 99, 222 MESZAROS, G., 336, 372 MORE HERRERO, A., 343 MOSS, R.L., 63 MOULSLEY, L.J., 333

WIJNEN, H.L.J.M., 69 WILKINS, J.P.G., 284 WILLIAMS, A.G., 120, 258 WILLIAMS, M.L., 227

This book represents the Proceedings of a seminar held in Silsoe, United Kingdom, 15-19 April 1985, to discuss international cooperation in odour control and odour measurement. Papers deal with effects of storage, control measures, treatment of slurry, control by instrumental methods and recommendations on olfactometric measurement.

TITLES OF INTEREST Efficient Land Use of Sludge and Manure edited by A. Dam Kofoed, J. H. Williams and P. L'Hermite 23 x 1 5 cm, xiii + 404 pp., 145 illus. Factors Influencing Sludge Utilisation Practices in Europe edited by R. D. Davis, H. Haeni and P. L'Hermite 23 x 1 5 cm, viii + 1 23 pp., 30 illus. Agricultural Wastes An International Journal edited by P. Hobson and E. P. Taiganides Published Monthly Biomass An International Journal edited by J. Coombs, D. 0 . Hall and W. H. Smith Published Monthly

ISBN 1 85166 010 0