Practical Approaches to Odor Reduction from Swine
Facilities in Illinois
Report on Research conducted at Henco Hogs LLC, Monmouth,
IL
Project Introduction and Overview
This report presents the results of a major research effort to investigate
technologies and approaches to reducing emissions of odor, gases (ammonia and
hydrogen sulfide), and dust from commercial swine operations in Illinois. The
research was carried out by the University of Illinois at the Henco Hogs facility
near Monmouth, IL, a typical modern farrow-to-wean production facility.
The project was prompted by increasing public concerns over the impact of
emissions from swine facilities, particularly odor, on the quality of life
in rural areas. The project was targeted at the needs of people living
near swine facilities but also those of people who earn their living, either
directly or indirectly, from swine production. The swine industry is
a major part of the agricultural industry of the State of Illinois, contributing
over $1 billion annually to the state’s economy. In addition,
with its fertile soils and intensive cropping systems, Illinois has even more
potential to develop a sustainable swine industry, recycling nutrients from
swine manure through the corn crop. However, this potential cannot be
realized until the issues surrounding odor emissions have been resolved. This
project was aimed at the on-farm evaluation of promising approaches to reduce
odor emissions from typical commercial swine facilities.
The origins
of this project can be traced back to the Strategic Research Initiative ( SRI)
on “Swine Odor and Waste Management” that was funded by the Illinois
Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR). This SRI was initiated
in 1998 and continued for 5 y. It was a broadly based, multidisciplinary
project, involving major research institutions in Illinois, that developed
and evaluated a number of technologies and approaches for emissions reduction. However,
by the end of the SRI most of these had been subjected to pilot-scale testing
only and needed to be evaluated at full-commercial scale to provide data on
efficacy under typical production conditions, as well as on the economics of
the various approaches.
Therefore,
the overall objective of this project was to evaluate a range of odor-reduction
technologies for full-scale commercial application on Illinois swine farms. The
project was carried out over 2 ½ y, from July 2002 to December 2004. Funding
for the project was provided by the Office of the Attorney General of the State
of Illinois.
INVESTIGATORS
The following individuals from the University of Illinois contributed to this
project:
- J. Malia Appleford, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
- M. Susan Brewer, Professor, Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Stanley Curtis, Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences
- Mike Ellis, Professor, Dept. of Animal Sciences
- Ted Funk, Professor and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
- Gilbert Hollis, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Animal Sciences
- Sheryll Jerez, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
- Atilla Mutlu, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
- Jibin Ni, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agricultural and
Biological Engineering
- Matt Robert, Visiting Research Scientist, Dept. of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
- Janelle Schlipf, Research Specialist, Dept. of Animal Sciences
- Gary Schnitkey, Associate Professor, Dept. of Agricultural and
Consumer Economics
- Jingwei Su, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agricultural
and Biological Engineering
- Allen Williams, Professional Scientist, State Water Survey
- Yuanhui Zhang, Professor, Dept. of Agricultural and Biological
Engineering
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of this project was to evaluate a range of odor-reduction
technologies for full-scale commercial application on Illinois swine farms.
- Study I: Effect
of room and sampling day on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide in the farrowing
facility (preliminary study)
- Preliminary comparison to determine effect of
room and sampling day on baseline values for odor, ammonia, and hydrogen
sulfide in farrowing facilities
- Study II: Establish
baseline values in the farrowing facility
- Determine baseline values for odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide
in gestation facilities.
- Study III: Establish
baseline values in the gestation facility
- Determine baseline values for odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide
in gestation facilities
- Study IV: Effect of
pit flushing frequency on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide in the
farrowing facility
- Determine effect of pit flushing frequency on odor, ammonia, and
hydrogen sulfide in farrowing facilities
- Study V: Effect
of Puremax Water Treatment system on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide
in the farrowing facility
- Determine effect of Puremax Water Treatment system on odor and gases
in farrowing facilities
- Study VI: Effect
of oil sprinkling on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide in the farrowing
facility
- Determine effect of oil sprinkling on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen
sulfide in farrowing facilities
- Study VII: Effect
of feeding high fat diets on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide
in the farrowing facility
- Determine effect of varying fat levels
in diets for lactating sows on odor and gases in farrowing facilities.
- Study
VIII: Effect of feeding low crude
protein diets on odor, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide in the farrowing facility
- Determine
the effect of lowering protein in diets for lactating sows on odor,
gases, and dust in farrowing facilities
- Study IX: Effect
of an Air dam and Biocurtain on dust and other emissions from a gestation
facility
- Determine effect of an air dam and biocurtain on odor and gases from
gestation facilities at the study site.
- Study X: Effect
of Biofilter for treating exhaust air from manure storage tank
- Determine the effect of different biofilter media on exhausted odor
and gases
- Study XI: Effect
of Diffusion-Coagulation-Separation Deduster on odor, gases,
and dust exhausted from gestation facilities
- Determine the effect of Diffusion-Coagulation-Separation
on odor, gases, and dust exhausted.
- Study XII: Description
of ventilation monitoring system
- Measure the volume of ventilation air
exhausted from farrowing and gestation facilitie
- Study XIII: Dispersion
model simulations of odor transport from Henco farm
- Model the impact of emission-reduction technologies and approaches.
- Study
XIV: Economic impacts of alternative
strategies for controlling swine odor
- Estimate the economic impact of emission-reduction technologies and
approaches.
- Study XV: Interviews
of neighbors living near the Henco Hogs facility
- Survey of neighbor perceptions over the 2-y study
