VOC Removal from Manure Gaseous Emissions with UV Photolysis and UV-TiO₂ Photocatalysis

• Main Authors: Xiuyan Yang, Jacek A. Koziel, Yael Laor, Wenda Zhu, J. (Hans) van Leeuwen, William S. Jenks, Steven J. Hoff, Jeffrey Zimmerman, Shicheng Zhang, Uzi Ravid, Robert Armon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
• Series: Catalysts
• Subjects: air quality; air pollution; emissions mitigation; sustainable livestock production; confined animal feeding operations; odor control
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/6/607

Control of gaseous emissions from livestock operations is needed to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and sustainability of the industry. The focus of this research was to mitigate livestock odor emissions with UV light. Effects of the UV dose, wavelength, TiO₂ catalyst, air temperature, and relative humidity were tested at lab scale on a synthetic mixture of nine odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and real poultry manure offgas. Results show that it was feasible to control odorous VOCs with both photolysis and photocatalysis (synthetic VOCs mixture) and with photocatalysis (manure offgas). The treatment effectiveness <i>R</i> (defined as % conversion), was proportional to the light intensity for synthetic VOCs mixtures and followed an order of UV_185+254 + TiO₂ > UV₂₅₄ + TiO₂ > UV_185+254; no catalyst > UV₂₅₄; no catalyst. VOC conversion <i>R</i> > 80% was achieved when light energy was >~60 J L⁻¹. The use of deep UV (UV_185+254) improved the <i>R,</i> particularly when photolysis was the primary treatment. Odor removal up to ~80% was also observed for a synthetic VOCs mixture, and actual poultry manure offgas. Scale-up studies are warranted.