Development and implementation of air pollution mitigation systems for animal husbandry in The Netherlands
Being one of the most densely populated nations in Europe, and housing an economically important livestock industry, the Netherlands face the challenge to strictly control environmental impacts of livestock production on residential and natural areas. The aim of this paper is to describe the main characteristics of the approaches followed in this policy with the focus on ammonia emission mitigation. It outlines technological developments and the implementation of mitigation technology in practice, and discusses benefits and drawbacks of the followed approach, and the possibility to make use of developed mitigation options in other regions with different productions settings. Since 1980 the ammonia emission from agriculture has been reduced by nearly 50%. This major achievement can be attributed to a number of general measures related to mandatory manure storage covering, low emission manure application techniques, and the implementation of low emission housing systems. Low emission housing systems have been developed for all main animal categories. Low emission is generally reached by restricting emitting surfaces, and quick removal and drying of manure. In general ammonia emissions were reduced by 50% and more, when compared to existing conventional systems. Higher reduction levels (70-90%) can be reached by air scrubbers. All measures were tested on practical farms using standardized measurement protocols. Low emission housing systems developed in one region cannot be simply transferred to other production regions. However, most of the mitigation principles that underlie these housing systems can be successfully applied in other settings as well, if modified and adapted to local conditions.
Standardized testing procedures for assessing ammonia and odor emissions from animal housing systems in The Netherlands
The Green Label measurement protocol (GL protocol) was developed in the mid nineties to evaluate the ammonia emission of low emission housing systems and other mitigation measures in the Netherlands. The measurements are used to assign official emission factors to low emission housing systems, used in farm permit procedures. More recently a new multi-site sampling approach has been developed, based on the experiences with the GL protocol and results from a statistical analysis of an extensive ammonia emission database. The objective of this paper is to describe and explain the evolution process from the GL protocol to the multi-site approach. Key features of the GL protocol are: evaluation at one farm location, long measurements during winter and summer periods, continuous high frequency sampling, ranges to stay within for critical management factors. In 2005 a statistical analysis was performed on a large ammonia emission database of pig housing systems that provided estimates of so called between farm(s2b), within farm (s 2 w) and instrumental measurement variances that determine the accuracy with which the mean ammonia emission of a housing system can be measured. The analysis demonstrated that both s2b and s 2 w of housing systems varied in the range of 30 - 40% ( relative standard deviations). The large size of s2b implies that the accuracy of the GL protocol is strongly limited by its single farm approach. Recently a new multi-site sampling approach has been approved based on four farm locations where at each location six independent 24h sampling intervals are distributed over one year. The multi-site approach allows for a less intensive and less costly measuring effort for each location, whereas the accuracy of the mean yearly ammonia emission of a low emission housing system is drastically improved.
Recent developments in biological waste gas purification in Europe
Abstract Polluted air has become an increasing environmental and health concern. Legislation controlling the emissions of air pollutants (VOC, toxics and odor) has proliferated. In recent years, biological techniques have been applied more frequently to control these emissions, because they eliminate many of the drawbacks of classical physical–chemical techniques. Different waste gases require different strategies for optimal and sustainable purification. Biological treatment provides an expanding variety of opportunities for economical and environmentally friendly solutions for many waste gas emissions. In Europe, a significant body of knowledge and experience has been generated on biological waste gas purification. Examples of some interesting developments and new applications of biological waste gas treatment systems in Europe during the last 5 years are presented in this paper.