Broiler House Flooring System
Environmental Benefits in Poultry Houses through use of a Plenum Flooring System.Conservation Innovation Grant Program (USDA)
AviHome, LLC - March, 2011
1. Project Background
We are proposing to demonstrate an innovative and highly effective floor for reducing ammonia emissions in chicken houses. Approximately 9 billion broilers (chickens raised for meat production) are raised in the United States (US) annually producing 25 billion pounds of manure. Broiler house floors have several types of material that is used to absorb/ dilute the manure moisture. In the broiler houses ammonia is produced by a natural chemical reaction in the feces and released which is detrimental to the environment, broiler health and human health. After many years of engineering and testing, special flooring has been developed by AviHome to replace the litter as the base of the floor to rear broilers.
The US is the world leader in commercial poultry production with over 24% of the world’s production being produced in 77,000 broiler houses according to the USDA; not including breeding, egg, or other poultry houses. There are approximately 3.4 billion pounds of chicken produced by 1,700 farm families in 5,000 broiler houses per year on the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (Delmarva) Peninsula according to the Delmarva Poultry Industry association. It can therefore be seen that poultry production is a very important sector of the economy in the Chesapeake Bay region and the US. Chicken is a leading protein source for almost every developed country in the world, including the US, relative to other meat animals. Between 1994 and 2009, poultry production increased by approximately 20 billion pounds while, for the same period, cattle production decreased roughly by 10 billion pounds according to USDA statistics.
According to an EPA study (Battye et. al. 1994. Development and Selection of Ammonia Emission Factors. EPA/600/R-94/190.), poultry production accounts for 26.7% of the estimated ammonia emissions from livestock production facilities and other human activities. These studies note that ammonia derived from animal production operations constitutes as much as 81 percent of the total emissions associated with human activity. Additionally, in a 2002 study by the National Research Council on air emissions from animal feeding operations, ammonia is listed as the top major emission concern on a global, national, and regional level in comparison to 8 other emission concerns (adapted from the article “Ammonia Emissions and Animal Agriculture” by Jennifer G. Becker and Robert E. Graves, published by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Quality Program). A plenum floor was developed and tested by AviHome and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore that can naturally control the release of volatilized ammonia (NH3).
Nitrogen is present in all animal manures, and in the form of ammonia can create noxious odors and have a negative impact on both air and water quality and animal and human health. It has been shown that volatized ammonia can also have a negative impact on animal weight gain and feed conversion. In addition, exposure to ammonia can harm the respiratory tract and eyes in humans and birds alike. High levels of total nitrogen loading in waterways with ammonia deposition have been associated with the decline of certain aquatic species and an overall decrease in biological diversity.
Ammonia (NH3) is produced as a by-product of the microbial decomposition of the organic nitrogen compounds in manure. Nitrogen occurs as both unabsorbed nutrients in manure and as either urea (mammals) or uric acid (poultry). Urea and uric acid will hydrolyze rapidly to form ammonia and will be emitted soon after excretion. The formation of ammonia will continue with microbial breakdown of manure and is highly soluble in water. The volatilization of ammonia can be highly variable depending on the total ammonia concentration, temperature, pH, and moisture. Emissions will depend on how much of the ammonia-nitrogen in solution reacts to form ammonia verses ionized ammonium (NH4+), which is nonvolatile. Under acidic conditions (pH values around 7.0 or less) ammonium is the predominate species, and ammonia volatilization occurs at a low rate. As pH increases above 7.0, the concentration of non-ionized NH3volatizesammonia increases as does the rate of ammonia volatilization with proper temperature.
A number of strategies & technologies have been studied for many years. Some of the more popular mitigation strategies today are 1) Nutrition, 2) Litter Amendments/ Acidifiers, 3) vegetative buffers, 4) air filtration systems, 5) in-house composting (a.k.a. windrowing), 6) many different bedding materials in lieu of wood shavings, and 7) concrete floors. While each of the options has their unique advantages they also come with their limitations while only mitigating and not fully resolving the issues of ammonia production/ emissions. Simply put, if they were fully effective, reduction of ammonia emissions wouldn’t be in multiple priority areas for CIG grant program.
After five years of research, development, and testing, AviHome has developed a commercially viable flooring system for poultry houses that can very effectively control ammonia emissions in addition to many other benefits. The AviHome Flooring System (AFS) was developed through ten separate scientifically validated trials, two of which were commercial size houses. These tests were conducted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in Princess Anne, Maryland. UMES is a highly respected educational institution with an emphasis upon agriculture and environmental research.
Significant investment has been made from public and private sources have into the development of this new technology. Some of the costs associated with development and testing this product have been defrayed by grants from the USDA, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the University of Maryland, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the Maryland Hawk Corporation have also provided in-kind services.
Testing has demonstrated the ability of the AFS to hold ammonia levels from exceeding ~5 parts per million (ppm) but maintained 0 ppm for the majority of the tests (measured at floor level/source). Growth performance improvement with the AFS ranged from 5% to 21%. As a recorded observation, dust levels were also noted as well as the cleanliness of the birds; both indicators of optimal house conditions.
Research has been published in Europe over 15 years ago that supports the merit of a ventilated flooring system. Earlier commercialization attempts failed due to the inability to overcome cost and technical issues. The AFS has overcome the shortcomings of other commercialization efforts and is ready to market. With the support of the CIG program, we hope to commercially demonstrate the environmental benefits, finalize best management practices and standard operating procedures as well as continue to quantify and identify returns on investment for business and environmental stakeholders. All reasonable levels of academic testing have been exhausted and commercial pilots are the next step.
While initial small-scale research results confirmed proof of concept, the two latest commercial scale trials have shown strong promise for the commercial viability of the technology with respect to efficacy, durability, and performance improvements recorded.
House bedding in a typical chicken house has a pH of around 8 which is considered alkaline, while a pH of 7 is considered neutral. The alkaline environment allows volatilization of NH3 due to the proliferation of the microbial breakdown process. The AFS maintains an acidic manure pH in the range of 5 to 7 which interrupts the microbial breakdown process that leads to the production of ammonia. Furthermore, acidic manure is known for significantly reducing pathogen activity as supported by many scientific publications.
The AFS is an ideal candidate for the EQIP cost-share program in the poultry industry in that it provides multi faceted benefits in poultry production ranging from environmental, operational, economical, health and even governmental/legal. While having significant and diverse benefits, one main challenge with the commercial adoption of the AFS is the business model of the US poultry industry today. Virtually none of the integrators own any commercial production farms. Also, farmers today do not have the access to capital to adopt such a new and innovative technology. Because of the contracting system between the farmer and integrator, the returns on the AFS, like feed conversion improvement, is split between the farmer and the integrator. This is why it is seen that a cost share program like CIG/EQIP would accelerate adoption in the US while facilitating a significant return on investment for farmers, integrators, and even USDA/ environmental stakeholders.
The AFS is comprised of two 18” x 18” interlocking polymer based tiles to create a plenum underneath the birds/manure through which air/moisture can be removed from. The bottom tile is a configuration of cone pegs that create a continuous plenum and is engineered to support typical heavy equipment loads. The top tile which is mounted directly on the bottom tile creates a permeable screen and its unique engineered and patented design wicks moisture from the chicken feces while maintaining the manure mass on the top, leaving the plenum free and clear for air movement. The proprietary polypropylene polymer blends used to produce the floor are hydrophobic, inert, and resistant to virtually all chemicals making them a durable material choice. On the ground, underneath the tiles, is a plastic vapor barrier that separates the chickens/feces from the earth completely. This prevents any moisture/ nutrient exchange.
Prior to installation, the poultry litter from houses will be removed by a bobcat. Fill dirt is then compacted to approximately 97% compaction, the plastic moisture barrier is placed and the two layers of the plenum flooring will then be installed. The tiles interlock in a modular fashion so that it can be retrofitted into any chicken house regardless of size, age, or shape. This modular design allows for damaged tiles to be replaced easily. The system also includes movable fan units, one for every 100’ in the length of the house.
2. Project Objectives
The overall goal of the project is to demonstrate to the USDA, Poultry Industry, and academic/scientific community the efficacy, positive environmental impact, and the viability of the AFS in a true commercial setting. Specific, measurable goals are as follows:
· Reduce ammonia levels by 80% or more as compared to the control houses
· Reduce energy use by 10% as it relates to gas and electricity compared to control
· Improve feed conversion by at least 4% as compared to control
· Reduce dust and particulate material by 30% as compared to control
· Increase retention of nitrogen in the manure in lieu of emission
These goals are intended to address the following applied for categories: The primary category being applied for is: (Chesapeake Bay Watershed) Natural Resources Management - Projects that significantly reduce ammonia emissions from animal operations. Additional national program areas being applied for are: 1) Nutrient Management - Demonstrate the use of water filtration or other medium as a method of reducing chemical compounds and odors from poultry operations and other livestock facilities, 2) Air Quality and Atmospheric Resource - Implement the use of new or novel technologies for removal of odors, dust, hair, feathers, and particulate from fan exhaust from confined animal operations, and document the results, 3) Air Quality and Atmospheric Resource - Identification, evaluation, demonstration, and quantification of air quality improvement techniques, practices, and activities compatible with agriculture production and the management and handling of agriculture waste and by-products, 4) Air Quality and Atmospheric Resource - Implement the use of water filtration or other medium as a method of reducing chemical compounds and odors from poultry operations or other livestock facilities, and document the method and results, and 5) Energy - Innovative on-farm energy conservation technologies.
A non-quantifiable additional objective will be the development of best management practices for its use. A CIG grant will enable us to move the technology from small scale commercial trials to large commercial operations will enable us to prove the technology is ready for commercial adoption. We will thus be enabled to determine how best optimize use of the AFS in order to be responsive to environmental, health, and economic challenges in the poultry industry.
This project is innovative in that it makes use of a completely new product that can accomplish a variety of benefits that are unprecedented. The method and design is patent pending domestically and internationally.
