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Laboratory‐Scale Investigation of UV Treatment of Ammonia for Livestock and Poultry Barn Exhaust Applications
Author(s) -
Rockafellow Erin M.,
Koziel Jacek A.,
Jenks William S.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2010.0536
Subject(s) - barn , livestock , environmental science , ammonia , scale (ratio) , waste management , environmental engineering , environmental chemistry , chemistry , engineering , ecology , biology , geography , civil engineering , organic chemistry , cartography
The feasibility of using deep ultraviolet (UV) treatment for abatement of ammonia (NH 3 ) in livestock and poultry barn exhaust air was examined in a series of laboratory‐scale experiments. These experiments simulated moving exhaust air through an irradiation chamber with variables of UV wavelength and dose, NH 3 concentrations, humidity, and presence of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S). Ammonia, initially at relevant barn exhaust concentrations in air, was substantially or completely reduced by irradiation with 185 nm light. Reactions were monitored using chemiluminescence detection, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, of which the latter was found to be the most informative and flexible. Detected nitrogen‐containing products included N 2 O, NH 4 NO 3 , and HNO 3 . It was presumed that atomic oxygen is the primary photochemical product that begins the oxidative cascade. The data show that removal of NH 3 is plausible, but they highlight concerns over pollution swapping due to formation of ozone and N 2 O.