A simplified technique for the measurement of fugitive emissions during manure spreading.

Manure application supplies valuable nutrients to crops and reduces soil erosion, however, it can also be a source of pollution. Emissions of dust, gases, odors, virus, and bacteria can be released in large quantities and have negative impacts on the environment and workers’ health. This project proposes to adapt a low-cost technique called Passive Flux Sampling (PFS) for measuring fugitive emissions during manure spreading. This technique could be used for measuring airborne pollutants, such as greenhouse gases or bioaerosols emissions. The actual new PFS has been validated only to measure N2O emissions from livestock buildings. The project aims to: 1. Carry out a literature review for identifying appropriate collector material for the measure of emissions; 2. Design and test a new PFS using the best collector material; 3. Evaluate the efficiency of the new PFS in a controlled and non-controlled environment during manure spreading. The new PFS developed under this project will be used to measure fugitive emissions while applying manure spreading or other agricultural activities. This tool could be available to producers to measure their emissions and take strategies to make a safe manure application.

Faculty Supervisor:

Vijaya Raghavan

Student:

Partner:

Institut de Recherche et de Développement en Agroenvironnement

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Agriculture; Education; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

McGill University

Program: