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Sulfur Turnover and Emissions during Storage of Cattle Slurry: Effects of Acidification and Sulfur Addition
Author(s) -
Eriksen Jørgen,
Andersen Astrid J.,
Poulsen Henrik V.,
Adamsen Anders Peter S.,
Petersen Søren O.
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/jeq2012.0012
Subject(s) - sulfur , slurry , chemistry , odor , sulfate , methanethiol , sulfuric acid , hydrogen sulfide , ammonia , environmental chemistry , sulfide , dimethyl sulfide , inorganic chemistry , biochemistry , environmental engineering , organic chemistry , environmental science
Slurry acidification using sulfuric acid reduces ammonia emissions but also affects sulfur (S) cycling. Emission of sulfur is a source of malodor and reduces the sulfur fertilizer value of the slurry. We investigated the effect of sulfate and methionine amendments, alone or in combination with acidification, on sulfur transformations in slurry and emissions of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) during storage of fresh and aged cattle slurry. When pH was lowered to 5.5 it resulted in an almost complete inhibition of sulfate reduction. There was a huge emission of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) with addition of sulfate and methionine ( P < 0.01). Methanethiol (MT) was emitted in treatments with addition of methionine, especially when simultaneously acidified ( P < 0.01). The large H 2 S production in the sulfate‐amended slurries resulted in little accumulation of MT and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) under neutral conditions, in contrast to acidic conditions where the degradation was inhibited and both MT and DMS accumulated. Based on odor activity values, untreated slurry had little odor development from S compounds, especially the aged slurry. Acidification did not significantly increase odor contribution from any of the compounds in fresh or aged slurry. Generally, addition of a sulfate increased the contribution from H 2 S dramatically, whereas acidification lowered the H 2 S contribution but increased that of MT. Thus, acidification of slurry with sulfuric acid may potentially produce more odor from S compounds than untreated slurry.