VoAm: A Device for Trapping Volatilized Ammonia from Livestock Excreta

Background

The existing devices for estimation of volatilized ammonia from livestock excreta while stored under natural conditions on to the soil surface as heap are not available. The volatilized ammonia is third GHG of concern emitted from the livestock and contributes to air pollution (PM2.5) as well as acidification of soil and water. Presently no estimates are available on the ammonia volatilization from the livestock excreta in Indian conditions and absence of the precise estimation methodology makes Its amelioration difficult. The available devices use closed fabrications and cannot fixed into soil and therefore overestimate the volatilized ammonia from the excreta and does not represent the actual aerobic storage settings of excreta as prevails in the country. Further, due to the non-accessibility of excreta to soil microbes and no provision for natural leaching of nitrogen ammonia to the soil, the volatilized ammonia estimation through existing devices is overestimated.

The developed device can quantify the conversion of excreta nitrogen into ammonia loss through leaching in soil, ammonia nitrogen loss through the leaching and therefore, represents the natural process of nitrogen conversion to volatilized ammonia through soil microbes. The device can trap volatilized ammonia from the livestock excreta including dung, urine and mixed slurry while stored under the Indian natural settings on to the soil surface as heap.

Technology Details:

The device of the present invention named as VoAm is capable of trapping volatilized ammonia from the livestock excreta including dung, urine and mixed slurry while stored under the Indian natural settings on to the soil surface as heap. The device has to components A and B, where component A covered the known quantity of dung, urine and mixed slurry spread over the soil surface. The open end of the component A is partially dug into the soil. The component B of the device of present invention has two glass bottles filled with acid and arranged in a series to trap volatilized ammonia and a suction pump to facilitate the sucking of air plus volatilized ammonia from component A and pass through the acid bottles. During the process the volatilized ammonia is trapped in the acid and the remaining air is exhaled out through the suction pump. The device of the present invention is capable to estimate both the truly volatilized ammonia emit during the Indian natural aerobic storage settings of excreta as well as the ammonia nitrogen loss through the leaching and enrich the soil during storage. Moreover, the present device due to interaction of soil microbes and excreta represents the real process of converting excreta nitrogen to the volatilized ammonia.