Dossier

Exhaust air treatment in animal housing

Jochen Hahne | 30.06.2022

AT Institute of Agricultural Technology

Exhaust air from animal husbandry contains particulate matter, bio-aerosols, ammonia and odorants – all in all undesirable substances. Approved exhaust air treatment systems can reduce these emissions effectively.

Abluftwäscher zur Abscheidung von Staub, Ammoniak und Geruch aus der Schweinehaltung

The point in animal husbandry is to improve housing techniques considering several objectives: Emission reduction, animal welfare and competitiveness. We develop technical processes to reduce the emissions of ammonia, trace gases, odorants and bio aerosols with exhaust air treatment. Meanwhile the exhaust air treatment has become an important instrument to minimize local conflicts and to secure facilities. In the field of poultry keeping, much development work is still required.

Expertise

The situation in pig keeping

Odorants and particulate matter can be removed efficiently by bio filters. Problematic, however, is the separation of ammonia. In the meantime, many pig farmers have invested in exhaust air treatment systems.

The situation in poultry keeping

Exhaust air treatment in poultry keeping is characterized by high air volume flows and high particulate matter loads. Particulate matter results in problems in air scrubbing Which is why a selective upstream dust removal is pursued. Due to the high costs, only very few poultry farms have exhaust air purification systems.

Bioaerosols : Tiny particles, big effect

In addition to gaseous emissions livestock also releases airborne microorganisms such as bacteria or molds. These bioaerosols are suspected to affect the health of residents in the immediate vicinity of stables. The evidence is still insufficient, but many questions remain unanswered.

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