An article from Chemical and Engineering News published in April 2018 details that while the EPA has exempted farmers from air emissions reporting requirements, the states are deciding how to best deal with air emissions from the livestock industry. Chicken producers in Maryland face the possibility of a statewide monitoring study collecting emissions data from the broiler industry. Large-scale industrialized farms will still have to report emissions of certain hazardous air pollutants to state and local officials.
A growing trend in the U.S. to raise egg layers in cage-free housing systems means a rise in ammonia emissions. A 2015 study by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES) found that raising chickens in cage-free housing leads to higher ammonia and airborne particulate matter levels than raising them in cages. Chicken producers want to control ammonia emissions because if the levels become too high, the birds do not grow to their full potential and farm income falls. Controlling ammonia emissions from chicken processing waste is critical to farms and their surrounding communities. Farm odor control is also important.
To achieve farm odor control, Q-PAC and NUPAC high capacity packing media from Lantec Products are used in odor control systems to treat the ammonia from chicken processing waste. The high capacity of these packings helps to minimize the scrubber footprint needed for efficient odor control without excessive fan power costs. The odor control system used in composting chicken processing waste produces high-grade compost and ammonium sulfate, both useful as fertilizers.
