Belt manure collection systems are already in use in Europe, van Kempen said, and some of the support for the project is coming from a company that makes belt systems. She explained that both odor and ammonia are produced by the action of fecal microbes on the manure constituents. If urine and solid waste are separated, and the feces dried, odor and ammonia emissions should be reduced dramatically. Based on previous research, ammonia reductions of at least 80 percent are expected from a belt system. The belt system addresses these problems in the barn, where they first occur, unlike other waste management technologies that deal with waste after it leaves the barn.
Ammonia is a problem because it can volatilize and move into the atmosphere.
It may later come back to earth dissolved in rain water. Ammonia is a form of nitrogen, which is a nutrient. Excess nitrogen in waterways can fuel algae blooms. The algae then die, and decomposition of the plants depletes the water of oxygen. That can lead to fish kills.