Treatment of Swine Slurry by an Ozone Treatment System to Reduce Odor

Abstract

Development of a technology that can reduce the odor of liquid swine manure during agitation and land application could prove beneficial to the swine industry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a commercial ozone treatment system for swine slurry under production scale conditions. The facility used for this study was a curtain sided finishing building housing 500 grow–finish market hogs located over a manure pit measuring 12.2 m wide × 25.9 m long × 2.4 m deep with a total pit capacity of 770,142 l, containing 577,607 l. The system evaluated exposes air to ultra-violet light creating O3. The O3 is then injected into slurry at a rate of 851.6 l/min. treating 51,097 l/h. In this study the entire pit contents were treated every 11.3 h. At 0, 24, 48, and 96 h two slurry samples were collected with a 3.05 m probe and six air sample bags were collected via a vacuum pump. No significant differences were detected in slurry samples between time periods. Mean slurry values were 13.6 ± 4.6% solids dry wt., 850 ± 70 mg/l settable solids, 54,200 ± 4384 mg/l total suspended solids, 61,050 ± 12,657 mg/l chemical oxygen demand, 0.86 ± 0.14%N, 0.49 ± 0.27%P, 0.45 ± 0.01%K and dissolved oxygen below detection limits. Ammonia concentrations decreased (P = 0.004) from 0 to 96 h. Odor panelists analyzed air samples for intensity at recognition (IR), offensiveness at recognition (OR), intensity at full strength (IFS) and offensiveness at full strength (OFS). Panelists found OR, IFS and OFS were reduced (P < 0.01) at 48 h and 96 h compared to 0 h and IR was reduced (P < 0.04) at 24 h and 48 h and not at 96 h but trended lower (P = 0.12) at 96 h. The system evaluated significantly improved air quality within the building suggesting that odor emanating from swine buildings and odor generated during land application of slurry should be reduced.