Seasonal variation in methane emission from stored slurry and solid manures

Journal Article · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · Journal of Environmental Quality

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1994.00472425002300030026x· OSTI ID:245333

Husted, S ^[1]

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1. Royal Veterinary and Agricultural Univ., Copenhagen (Denmark)

Methane (CH{sub 4}) is an important greenhouse gas and recent inventories have suggested that livestock manure makes a significant contribution to global CH{sub 4} emissions. The emission of CH{sub 4} from stored pig slurry, cattle slurry, pig solid manure, and cattle solid manure was followed during a 1-yr period. Methane emission was determined by dynamic chambers. Emission rates followed a ln-normal distribution for all four manures, Indicating large spatial and seasonal variation& Monthly geometric means for pig slurry, cattle slurry, pig solid manure, and cattle solid manure varied from 0.4 to 35.8, 0.0 to 34.5, 0.4 to 142.1, and 0.1 to 42.7 g CH{sub 4} m{sup -3} d{sup -1}, respectively. For slurries CH{sub 4} emission rates increased significantly with storage temperatures, the Q{sub 10} value ranging from 14 to 5.7 depending on slurry type. The presence of a natural surface crust reduced CH{sub 4} emission from slurry by a factor of 11 to 12. Surface crust effects declined with increasing slurry temperature. Solid manures stored in dungheaps showed significant heat production. Pig solid manure temperatures were maintained at 30 to 60{degrees}C throughout most of the year, while cattle solid manure temperatures were close to ambient levels until late spring, when heat production was initiated. Methanogenesis in solid manure also increased with increasing temperatures. For pig solid manure, CH{sub 4} emission rates peaked at 35 to 45{degrees}C. No distinct temperature optimum could be detected for cattle solid manure, however, temperatures rarely exceeded 45{degrees}C. The Q{sub 10} values for dungheaps ranged from 2.7 to 10.3 depending on-manure type and Q{sub 10} temperature interval. Annual CH{sub 4} emissions from pig slurry, cattle slurry, pig solid manure, and cattle solid manure were estimated at 8.9, 15.5, 27.3, and 5.3 kg animal{sup -1} yr{sup -1}, respectively. 27 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 245333
• Journal Information: Journal of Environmental Quality, Journal Name: Journal of Environmental Quality Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 23; ISSN JEVQAA; ISSN 0047-2425
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
09 BIOMASS FUELS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
BIOMASS
CATTLE
EMISSION
MANURES
METHANE
POLLUTION SOURCES
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SLURRIES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
WASTE STORAGE