Local emissions monitoring and modelling
The AmmoniaN2K project aims to reassess ammonia emission factors currently used by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, and those in use in the United Kingdom. This will be carried out through monitoring on site emissions from modern Irish pig and poultry farms. Concentrations of Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide will be monitored inside pig and poultry farms. Monitoring indoor Carbon Dioxide concentrations will allow for the calculation of ventilation rates using Carbon Dioxide mass balance equations. This can be applied to indoor Ammonia concentrations in order to calculate the emission rate.
Once updated emission factors and ventilation rates have been obtained, they will be compared with those used in current best practice guidance and compared for suitability in an Irish context. This will include running local aerial dispersion models with AERMOD. This will assess the suitability of using standard national and international emission factors for these case study farms.
