A PORTABLE SENSOR FOR MEASURING GAS EMISSIONS FROM DAIRY COMPOST BEDDED PACK BARNS

• Main Author: Wolf, Katharine
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2017
• Subjects: Compost bedded pack barns; compost bedded dairy pack barns; greenhouse gas; measurement chamber; portable gas sensor; Engineering
• Online Access: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/bae_etds/51; http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=bae_etds

The objective of this study was to develop a gas measurement chamber for the comparison of emissions from different dairy manure storage facilities. Compost bedded pack (CBP) barns are a loose housing system in which cows rest on an intensely managed compost pack. Sawdust is the primary material added to the system, along with manure and urine inputs from the cows, and the pack is stirred one to two times daily. Maintaining a high level of aerobic microbial activity in the pack is critical for cow health. Previous dairy emissions work has not included compost bedded pack barns; it was expected that the largely aerobic system would have a different emissions profile than other manure storage systems. A measurement chamber was developed to determine emission fluxes from the compost bedded pack barn surface. Infrared and electrochemical sensors measuring ammonia, methane, and carbon dioxide obtain headspace gas concentrations, temperature, and humidity each second. The relatively lower cost of each chamber, as compared to photoacoustic and gas chromatography systems, will allow a greater number to be deployed to more accurately represent the spatial variation within the system.