Composting can divert organic waste from landfills, reduce landfill methane emissions, and recycle nutrients back to soils. However, the composting process is also a source of greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. Researchers, regulators, and policy decision-makers all rely on emissions estimates to develop local emissions inventories and weigh competing waste diversion options, yet reported emission factors are difficult to interpret and highly variable. This review explores the impacts of waste characteristics, pretreatment processes, and composting conditions on CO2, CH4, N2O, NH3, and VOC emissions by critically reviewing and analyzing 388 emission factors from 46 studies. The values reported to date suggest that CH4 is the single largest contributor to 100-year global warming potential (GWP100) for yard waste composting, comprising approximately 80% of the total GWP100. For nitrogen-rich wastes including manure, mixed municipal organic waste, and wastewater treatment sludge, N2O is the largest contributor to GWP100, accounting for half to as much as 90% of the total GWP100. If waste is anaerobically digested prior to composting, N2O, NH3, and VOC emissions tend to decrease relative to composting the untreated waste. Effective pile management and aeration are key to minimizing CH4 emissions. However, forced aeration can increase NH3 emissions in some cases.

Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions from Composting

Composting of N rich organic materials often leads to N loss via ammonia volatilization. Literature references from as early as 1922 have suggested gypsum can prevent N loss from manure. Millions of tons of high quality by-product gypsum are produced each year in the United States as a result of flue gas desul-furization (FGD) scrubbing of sulfur dioxide during combustion of coal. Our objective was to determine the impact of this gypsum on N release when mixed with dairy manure and biosolids during composting. A preliminary experiment was conducted involving 4-liter vessels containing 1.1 kg of dairy manure mixed with by-product gypsum at dry weight rates (w/w) of 0, 6%, 13% and 23% and composted for 18 days. The ammonia-N released in the off gas was trapped in 0.67 M boric acid solution. Loss of ammonia-N was essentially complete after seven days. When expressed as percent of initial N in the mixes, the amount of N lost ranged from 6.4% for the zero rate control to 2.6–2.8% for the gypsum treatments. Com...

Gypsum Additions Reduce Ammonia Nitrogen Losses During Composting of Dairy Manure and Biosolids

Nitrogen, carbon, and dry matter losses during composting of livestock manure with two bulking agents as affected by co-amendments of phosphogypsum and zeolite.

The effectiveness of co-additives for improving livestock waste composting (reduction of air pollution and conservation of nutrients) was investigated. Biochar and Flue gas desulphurization gypsum (FGD gypsum) were used to supplement the composting of a mixture of slaughter waste, swine slurry, and sawdust. Different compositions of additives (0% or 5% each, 10% biochar or FGD gypsum) were tested in triplicate on the laboratory scale. In addition, the effects of two different aeration schemes (continuous and intermittent) were also investigated. Ammonia volatilization, physicochemical characteristics, and compost maturity indices were investigated. The results indicated that the use of the co-additive (Biochar and FGD gypsum) during composting of livestock waste led to a reduction of ammonia volatilization by 26–59% and to a 6.7–7.9-fold increase of nitrate accumulation. The total ammonia volatilization of intermittent aeration treatment was lower than that of continuous aeration using co-additives treatment. It was concluded that co-additives (biochar and FGD gypsum) might be utilized in livestock waste composting to reduce ammonia volatilization and improve nutrient conservation.

The Effect of Co-Additives (Biochar and FGD Gypsum) on Ammonia Volatilization during the Composting of Livestock Waste

Manure applications support crop production, maintain soil fertility, and recycle locally available nutrients in cold humid temperate regions, consistent with the principles of sustainable agriculture. Manure may be an excellent nitrogen (N) fertilizer for crops if it provides plant-available N as ammonium ( NH 4 + ) and from organic N mineralization in synchrony with crop N demands. The objective of this review was to describe the N fertilizer value of manure based on its physico-chemical characteristics, its transformation into plant-available N as modulated by soil abiotic and biotic conditions, and agronomic practices related to manure handling, storage, and land application. Methods of measuring the plant-available N released from manure and estimating its N fertilizer value are presented. Finally, we discuss how sensor networks can be used to optimize the N fertilizer value of manure. Our concept includes (1) a smart approach to conserve manure N in livestock production facilities and storages and (2) a smart system for precise spatio-temporal application of manure to deliver plant-available N in synchrony with crop N demands. Sensor networks that monitor real-time changes in ammonia (NH3) and oxygen concentrations should help to minimize losses of plant-available N during manure storage. On-the-go technologies for variable rate manure application will be linked with multispectral crop data and geospatial soil inputs to make a smart decision system that can maximize the N fertilizer value of manure in cold humid temperate regions.

Novel Practices and Smart Technologies to Maximize the Nitrogen Fertilizer Value of Manure for Crop Production in Cold Humid Temperate Regions

/pdf/nutrient-concentrations-in-manure-storage-facilities-pe5eyuqwrl.pdf

Nutrient Concentrations in Manure Storage Facilities

Utah State University Cooperative Extension Agriculture Environmental Management
System (AEMS) seeks to integrate environmental management systems into Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). The methods and tool developed by AEMS assist
owner/operators in focusing on continual improvement of their operation's interactions with air,
water and land resources. Utah CAFO operators are realizing the benefits of effective
environmental management by using a systematic approach to planning, controlling, measuring
and improving their environmental effort. These operators envision the potential for significant
improvements and cost savings that are achieved by improving the operations management
processes. They understand the crucial point is that not all environmental problems need to be
solved by installing expensive pollution control equipment.

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=extension_histall

Agriculture Environmental Management System

High concentrations of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) can impact poultry and human health. During composting inside high-rise, caged layer facilities, high concentrations of NH3 are produced due to low carbon to nitrogen ratios of composting materials and the confined building environment. This study characterized the spatial and temporal variability of NH3 during in-house composting as a preliminary step to identifying control measures. Boric acid solutions and gas sensors were used to measure NH3 in 2 m × 7.5 m grid patterns for three high-rise laying hen structures during composting. Spatial variability was evident in all buildings, with areas of higher NH3 concentration near the center of buildings away from ventilation fans. Ammonia concentrations in the composting area frequently exceeded human health standards for 8-hour and 10-minute exposure periods of 25 and 35 μL L−1, respectively. Ammonia concentrations were lower in cage areas of high-rise structures due to the negative pressure ventilation system...

Variability of Atmospheric Ammonia In High-Rise, Caged Layer Composting

Composting inside high-rise, caged layer facilities can produce atmospheric ammonia (NH3) concentrations exceeding standards for human and poultry health. Control measures that reduce NH3 volatilization are necessary for in-house composting to be sustainable. Due to differences specific to in-house composting — low carbon to nitrogen ratios of composting material, continuous manure addition, and frequent turning — it is not known whether NH3 control measures used previously for poultry manure will work. The objectives of this study were to evaluate various amendment and process controls on NH3 produced during simulated in-house composting in the lab, and to evaluate select chemical control measures during composting inside a high-rise layer facility. Ten amendments (aluminum sulfate; chloride salts of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, and potassium; gypsum; sodium bisulfate; zeolite (clinoptilolite); straw; and cellulose) and four process controls (moisture; temperature; turning frequency; and particle size) ...

Chemical Amendments and Process Controls To Reduce Ammonia Volatilization During In-House Composting

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Nutrient Concentrations in Manure Storage Facilities

Agriculture Environmental Management System

Variability of Atmospheric Ammonia In High-Rise, Caged Layer Composting

Chemical Amendments and Process Controls To Reduce Ammonia Volatilization During In-House Composting