Project
Integrated approach to mitigate gaseous emissions in pig production to improve air quality for animal and human health and reduce environmental impact
In the Netherlands, pig production is economically significant but also leads to the emission of harmful gasses like ammonia (NH3), odour (e.g., H2S), fine dust and greenhouse gasses (GHG) affecting climate, biodiversity, animal and human health and public acceptance of pig production. These emissions depend on factors such as diet, housing, and manure management. Current emission reduction methods rely on air scrubbers which are inadequate to reduce odour and GHG emission. Moreover, these end-of-pipe solutions are associated with poor indoor air quality due to high concentrations of ammonia, dust and odour, with negative impact on the health of the pigs and workers on the farm.
In the Netherlands, pig production is economically significant but also leads to the emission of harmful gasses like ammonia (NH3), odour (e.g., H2S), fine dust and greenhouse gasses (GHG) affecting climate, biodiversity,
animal and human health and public acceptance of pig production. These emissions depend on factors such as diet, housing, and manure management. Current emission reduction methods rely on air scrubbers which are
inadequate to reduce odour and GHG emission. Moreover, these end-of-pipe solutions are associated with poor indoor air quality due to high concentrations of ammonia, dust and odour, with negative impact on the health of the pigs and workers on the farm.
This project addresses poor air quality associated to intensive pig farming, affecting both indoor conditions of animal facilities and the surrounding outdoor area. We will develop holistic solutions to reduce emissions by developing and integrating nutritional strategies, innovative manure management and low-emission pen designs to enhance the indoor air quality and hence the health conditions for pigs and farm workers, and to decrease environmental impact. The efficiency of the measures will be supported by state of the art sensors
that will monitor the animal health and indoor and outdoor air quality.
An initial desk study will define nutritional concepts for low-emission diets, meanwhile taking into account other criteria of sustainable (circular) pig production. These concepts will then be tested in laboratory trials where fresh manure from differently fed individual pigs will be analysed for production of volatile components, microbial products, and conversion processes occurring during manure storage. Promising dietary strategies are identified and will be tested against common diets throughout the growing-finishing period in group-housed pigs in experimental facilities. Emissions and indoor air are monitored by novel (prototype) sensors and reference methods. Pig health is assessed on different levels (behaviour, physiology, immunity). The most
promising strategies will be scaled up under practical housing conditions, assessing the air quality and health of the pigs. This phase serves as a proof of principle for an integrated strategy to provide a healthy indoor and outdoor climate aligning source-oriented dietary concepts, with dedicated manure management and the use of novel sensing technologies for real time monitoring emissions and air quality. Finally, results will be integrated in a description of strategies for pig production that include the use of low footprint feed resources, low-emission pen lay-out, manure management and end-of-pipe technology. These strategies will be evaluated for overall impact on health and environment with appropriate (e.g. LCA) methods and discussed in relation to (expected) legislation and regulations.