Air Emissions Mitigation from Aviary Cage-free Hen Litter

Abstract

Spraying water or electrolyzed water (EW) has been tested to reduce animal house dust level. In this study, lab-scale experiment was conducted to mitigate particulate matter (PM) emissions of litter from aviary cage-free hen houses by spraying EW. The results showed that higher spray dosage led to greater PM reduction (PM reduction of 71%, 81% and 89% immediately after EW spray at 25, 50, 75 mL per kg dry-basis litter or 3, 6, and 9 gal per 1000 ft2 at 0.4 inch (1 cm) litter depth, respectively) but higher ammonia (NH3) emissions. To address this issue, solid litter additive (PLT®) at three application rates (i.e., 60.8, 121.6, and 182.4 lb per 1000 ft2) along with spray of EW was tested for NH3 mitigation. The lab-scale study results showed that the three litter additive application rates reduced NH3 generation by 28–79%. This study provides the foundation for conducting subsequent field test to verify the efficacy of this promising mitigation technique (EW spray and PLT use) to improve the indoor air quality of CF hen houses.