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Ammonia Volatilization from Liquid Hog Manure: Influence of Aeration and Trapping Systems

Dep. of Renewable Resources, Macdonald Campus of McGill Univ., Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Québec, Canada H9X 3V9

*Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Measurements of N loss from manures may reflect differences in the types of manures and methodologies used. This study's objective was to test the suitability of 0.32 M H₃BO₃ and 0.9 M H₂SO₄ for trapping NH₃ volatilized from liquid hog manure (LHM) under various experimental conditions. Samples of LHM were incubated for 15 d in containers with aeration outlets positioned above, at the middle, or at the bottom of the LHM. Lowering the position of the aeration outlet increased both the pH of the LHM and the amount of NH₃ volatilized. More NH₃ was trapped in H₂SO₄ than H₃BO₃, and the difference in trapping efficiency of the two acids increased with their NH₃ concentrations. Neither the amount of NH₃ trapped nor the exponential relationship between the NH⁺₄ concentrations of two H₃BO₃ traps in series was influenced by changing the bubble path length through the acid. Regression analysis indicated that >95% trapping efficiency was obtained only when the NH₃ concentration of H₃BO₃ was below 0.42 mg N mL^–1, much lower than the 0.9 mg N mL^–1 reported to be the limit for using H₃BO₃ in the Kjeldahl method. Even when using two traps in series, H₃BO₃ appeared to trap less NH₃ than H₂SO₄. Amending LHM with sucrose lowered the pH of H₃BO₃ used to trap volatilized NH₃, thereby interfering with NH₃ determination and rendering H₃BO₃ unsuitable for determining NH₃ volatilization. Investigators who use H₃BO₃ to measure NH₃ volatilization in other systems must ensure that similar interferences do not occur and that NH₃ concentrations do not exceed 0.42 mg N mL^–1.

Received for publication March 3, 1992.

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