An Inflatable Cover for Manure Storage To Reduce Odor Emissions

Total odor emission from an animal facility into the atmosphere is approximately composed of 50% through indoor exhaust air, 25% through manure storage and 25% through manure transport and spreading.

Existing odor control methods for manure lagoons are cost intensive and not effective. Current research in Iowa are primarily focused on evaluating different lagoon cover materials such as wheat straw, corn stalks and lava residuals. Spreading straw or a polystyrene foam plate on top of manure lagoons were showed  not successful in Canada. In those approaches, frequent maintenance is required and the cost was high. A specialized straw spreader is required for spreading straw and a specialized straw chopper is needed when empty the lagoon as the covering materials sunk and plugged the pump.

While floating type of lagoon covers not successful, an inflatable cover appears suitable for this application. A preliminary study conducted by Zhang (1996) demonstrated that a balloon type of manure cover could be an economical and effective method to reduce odor emission to the atmosphere (Figure 1).  The plastic sheet was inflated using a low pressure furnace blower and thus, the cover was suspended on top of the lagoon and the odor emission was virtually eliminated.   The cover has been continuously in operation without any maintenance since its installation in 1994.   The cover also greatly improved the landscape on the farm.

1. To develop and install a low cost balloon-type cover for rectangular earthen manure lagoons. The cover will be inflated using a low pressure blower and be airtight.
2. To measure the rate of odor and gases (such as methane, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia) emission from the lagoon. 
3. To evaluate the performance of the cover on wind resistance and snow accumulation, maintenance requirement and cost.