Elimination of emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from confined animal and feeding operations (CAFO) using an adsorption/liquid-redox process with biological regeneration
Authors: Lahav Ori , Heber Albert , Broday David 
Published: March 2022

The project was originally aimed at investigating and developing new efficient methods for cost effective removal of ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), in particular broiler and laying houses (NH₃) and hog houses (H₂S). In both cases, the principal idea was to design and operate a dedicated air collection system that would be used for the treatment of the gases, and that would work independently from the general ventilation system. The advantages envisaged: (1) if collected at a point close to the source of generation, pollutants would arrive at the treatment system at higher concentrations; (2) the air in the vicinity of the animals would be cleaner, a fact that would promote animal growth rates; and (3) collection efficiency would be improved and adverse environmental impact reduced. For practical reasons, the project was divided in two: one effort concentrated on NH₃₍g₎ removal from chicken houses and another on H₂S₍g₎ removal from hog houses. NH₃₍g₎ removal: a novel approach was developed to reduce ammonia emissions from CAFOs in general, and poultry houses in particular. Air sucked by the dedicated air capturing system from close to the litter was shown to have NH₃₍g₎ concentrations an order of magnitude higher than at the vents of the ventilation system. The NH₃₍g₎ rich waste air was conveyed to an acidic (0<pH<~5) bubble column reactor where NH₃ was converted to NH₄⁺. The reactor operated in batch mode, starting at pH 0 and was switched to a new acidic absorption solution just before NH₃₍g₎ breakthrough occurred, at pH ~5. Experiments with a wide range of NH₃₍g₎ concentrations showed that the absorption efficiency was practically 100% throughout the process as long as the face velocity was below 4 cm/s. The potential advantages of the method include high absorption efficiency, lower NH₃₍g₎ concentrations in the vicinity of the birds, generation of a valuable product and the separation between the ventilation and ammonia treatment systems. A small scale pilot operation conducted for 5 weeks in a broiler house showed the approach to be technically feasible. H₂S₍g₎ removal: The main goal of this part was to develop a specific treatment process for minimizing H₂S₍g₎ emissions from hog houses. The proposed process consists of three units: In the 1ˢᵗ H₂S₍g₎ is absorbed into an acidic (pH<2) ferric iron solution and oxidized by Fe(III) to S⁰ in a bubble column reactor. In parallel, Fe(III) is reduced to Fe(II). In the 2ⁿᵈ unit Fe(II) is bio-oxidized back to Fe(III) by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (AF).In the 3ʳᵈ unit S⁰ is separated from solution in a gravity settler. The work focused on three sub-processes: the kinetics of H₂S absorption into a ferric solution at low pH, the kinetics of Fe²⁺ oxidation by AF and the factors that affect ferric iron precipitation (a main obstacle for a continuous operation of the process) under the operational conditions. H₂S removal efficiency was found higher at a higher Fe(III) concentration and also higher for higher H₂S₍g₎ concentrations and lower flow rates of the treated air. The rate limiting step of the H₂S reactive absorption was found to be the chemical reaction rather than the transition from gas to liquid phase. H₂S₍g₎ removal efficiency of >95% was recorded with Fe(III) concentration of 9 g/L using typical AFO air compositions. The 2ⁿᵈ part of the work focused on kinetics of Fe(II) oxidation by AF. A new lab technique was developed for determining the kinetic equation and kinetic parameters (KS, Kₚ and mₘₐₓ) for the bacteria. The 3ʳᵈ part focused on iron oxide precipitation under the operational conditions. It was found that at lower pH (1.5) jarosite accumulation is slower and that the performance of the AF at this pH was sufficient for successive operation of the proposed process at the H₂S fluxes predicted from AFOs. A laboratory-scale test was carried out at Purdue University on the use of the integrated system for simultaneous hydrogen sulfide removal from a H₂S bubble column filled with ferric sulfate solution and biological regeneration of ferric ions in a packed column immobilized with enriched AFbacteria. Results demonstrated the technical feasibility of the integrated system for H₂S removal and simultaneous biological regeneration of Fe(III) for potential continuous treatment of H₂S released from CAFO. NH₃ and H₂S gradient measurements at egg layer and swine barns were conducted in winter and summer at Purdue. Results showed high potential to concentrate NH₃ and H₂S in hog buildings, and NH₃ in layer houses. H₂S emissions from layer houses were too low for a significant gradient. An NH₃ capturing system was designed and tested in a 100-chicken broiler room. Five bell-type collecting devices were installed over the litter to collect NH₃ emissions. While the air extraction system moved only 10% of the total room ventilation airflow rate, the fraction of total ammonia removed was 18%, because of the higher concentration air taken from near the litter. The system demonstrated the potential to reduce emissions from broiler facilities and to concentrate the NH₃ effluent for use in an emission control system. In summary, the project laid a solid foundation for the implementation of both processes, and also resulted in a significant scientific contribution related to AF kinetic studies and ferrous analytical measurements.