Proceedings available at: http://www.extension.org/67704
Confined cattle facilities are an increasingly common housing system in the Northern Great Plains region. Many of these facilities add organic bedding material to the pens once or twice per week. Particulate matter concentrations and emissions from these facilities have not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to quantify particulate matter concentration adjacent to a deep-bedded monoslope facility housing cattle and to compare the concentrations during normal operation and a bedding event.
Particulate Matter Adjacent to Cattle Deep-Bedded Monoslope Facilities
1. Particulate matter adjacent
to cattle deep-bedded
monoslope facilities
Mindy J. Spiehs
April 4, 2013
Waste to Worth
Denver, CO
2. Project Overview
• Project is part of USDA AFRI Air Quality Grant
– South Dakota State University
– Iowa State University
– Livestock Poultry and Environmental Learning
Center
– USDA ARS
• Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE
• Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit,
Lubbock, TX
3.
4.
5. Bedding and manure management
• Producers manage
bedding/manure two
ways:
– Allow a bedded pack to
accumulate in center or
pen
– Scrape and haul all bedding
and manure weekly
• Manure may be stored
under roof in manure bay
or in outdoor pile until
land applied
• Fresh bedding added to
pack 1 – 2 times per week
6. Purpose of Air Quality Grant
• Gather baseline emission data from beef
confinement barns
• Evaluate 2 manure handling systems
Weekly Scrape and Haul
South Dakota Sites
Bedpack
Iowa Sites
7. Monitoring Weather
• On-site weather
station measured
– Wind direction
– Wind speed
– Ambient air
temperature
– Relative humidity
8. Monitoring the Barns
• Two barns in South Dakota and
two barns in Iowa were
monitored
– Two mobile instrument trailers
were rotated between the barns
– Continuous gas measurements
were taken from each barn for one
month each season for two years
• Two air inlets on the south side
of the barn and six air inlets on
the north side of the barn
continuously collected air
samples to analyze for
– Ammonia
– Hydrogen sulfide
– Methane
– Carbon dioxide
– Nitrous oxide
• Particulate matter was
monitored periodically
9. Monitoring Particulate Matter
• South Dakota Sites
– Measured using Minivols
– Collected baseline
emission data
• Iowa Site
– Measured using Lo-Vol
Particulate Air Samplers
– Collected baseline
emission data
– Evaluated particulate
matter concentration
relative to management
events
10. Objective
• Compare particulate matter concentration
adjacent to a deep-bedded monoslope facility
during normal operation and a bedding event.
11. Sampling procedure
• Lo-Vol Particulate
Samplers
– Three placed 4.6 m (15 ft)
from the north side of the
building
– Three placed 4.6 m (15 ft)
from the south side of the
building
– 36.6 m (120 ft) between
the samplers on each side
• Average sampler flow
rate was 16.7 L/min.
12.
13. Sampling procedure
• Each sampler contained pre-weighed filters
• At the end of the sampling period, filters were collected
and sent to USDA ARS Cotton Production and Processing
Research Unit, Lubbock, TX to determine total
suspended particles (TSP).
• Samples were collected over two five-day periods
– April 28 – May 5, 2011
– June 24 – July 1, 2011
• Each sample period included three 24-hr collections
during normal operation and two 3-hr collections during
a bedding event
14. Statistical Analysis
• Data were analyzed using SAS PROC MIXED to
determine differences between sampling events
(Bedding vs. Normal Operation) and sampling
periods (April – May vs. June – July)
• No event by sampling period interaction was
detected (P = 0.1794)
• No significant difference between sampling
periods was detected (P = 0.1807)
18. Average Concentrations
• Average 24-hr TSP concentration on days of
normal operation was 58.6 ± 3.9 µg/m3
• Average 3-hr particulate matter concentration
during a bedding event was 702.2 ± 266.1
µg/m3
• TSP significantly higher during bedding events
compared to normal operations (P = 0.0040)
19. Conclusions
• In general, particulate matter concentrations
adjacent to the deep-bedded monoslope
facility were lower than previously reported
for open lot feedlots.
• Concentrations of TSP were higher during the
3-hr bedding event than during normal
operation but quickly return to baseline levels
following bedding event.
The primary monoslope air quality project is funded by a USDA AFRI Air Quality Grant that includes researchers from South Dakota State University, Iowa State University, the Livestock Poultry and Environmental Learning Center, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Clay Center, NE. The project that will be discussed today is a sub-project of the overall grant and included ARS researchers from the USDA Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit in Lubbock, TX, who study particulate matter associated with cotton ginning.
Currently CERCLA reports use a single value for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide based on summertime measurements from open feedlots in four states (some Southern). This probably is not reflective of deep-bedded barns. Beef cattle barns were not included in the original NAEMS project so accurate emission data is not available for beef cattle confinement barns. Manure handling systems include: weekly total scrape (no deep pack) vs deep-pack/clean around edges weekly
Monitoring was continuous every other month over 2 years to get at seasonal trends and changes in the animal growth cycle. There were be two pens monitored per barn. PM 10 is what can get into esophagus. PM 2.5 is what can settle at the bottom of the lungs.
To monitor particulate matter, Minivols were used periodically at both South Dakota barn sites to collect baseline emission data. We did not have sufficient equipment to monitor the Iowa sites using Minivols. But we did want to gather some baseline data from the bedpack barns and to evaluate particulate matter concentration relative to management events such as bedding. That lead to this sub-project in collaboration with our colleagues at the ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit in Lubbock, TX.
This consists of three Lo-Vol units placed at the front and3 Lo-Vol units placed back of the barn. Air was drawn into the unit and dust captured on a pre-weighed filtered paper within the unit. These filters are then weighed back and calculated to determine the level of PM 10 and PM 2.5
Shown on this data slide are the TSP concentrations for each of the six sampling locations during the April 28 – May 5 sampling period. Samplers located on the north side of the barn are shown in blue and those located on the south side of the barn are shown in red. Average concentration over the 24 hour normal operation period are shown on April 28, May 4, and May 5 th . Three hour bedding events are shown on April 29 and May 2. The concentration of TSP during the 3 hr bedding event are clearly higher than during hours of normal operation. The average windspeed on April 29 th was 6.49 m/s. On May 2, average wind speed through the barn was 7.01 m/s.
This is a chart of the TSP concentrations during the June 24 – July 1 sampling event. Bedding events occurred on June 24 and June 28. Twenty-four hour samples during hours of normal operation occurred on June 29, June 30, and July 1 st . As with the previous sampling period, we see significantly higher TSP concentrations during the bedding events compared to the hours of normal operation. On June 24 th , there was a slight south wind at only about 1.9 m/s moving through the barn. June 28 th was an interesting sampling day. The wind happened to changed direction during the 3 hour sampling period. On interesting thing to note about the bedding events, is that these elevated concentrations of TSP are very short-lived. Observe the June 29 th sampling period, less than 24 hours after bedding has been added to the barn, there is very little TSP emitted from the barns.
Typical openlot feedlot particulate matter is 410 ug/m3.