Mitigating Ammonia Emissions from Liquid Manure Using a Commercially Available Additive Under Real-Scale Farm Conditions

An inter-university study in a commercial barn (University of Milan and University of California, Davis) on bovine slurry showed up to an 87% reduction in ammonia (NH₃) emissions with SOP LAGOON compared to the control.

Summary: Two adjacent storage tanks (treated vs. control) were monitored from May 27 to September 7. The treated tank showed a 77% reduction in NH₃ during the first month, reaching up to 87% by the end of the monitoring period.

Ammonia (NH₃) is a major anthropogenic pollutant associated with agricultural activities, particularly livestock farming. NH₃ emissions from manure storage have significant direct environmental impacts and are a key precursor of secondary inorganic PM2.5, contributing to the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols (e.g., ammonium salts). NH₃ emissions pose risks to environmental quality and human health. Reducing NH₃ emissions aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 14, and SDG 15.

This study, under the supervision of Professor Bacenetti, evaluated the performance of the SOP LAGOON additive under real-scale farm conditions for ammonia mitigation. Two adjacent slurry storage tanks on a Northern Italian dairy farm were monitored from May 27 to September 7: one treated with SOP LAGOON and one left untreated (control). During the first month, the treated tank showed a 77% reduction in NH₃ emissions. Emissions from the treated tank remained consistently lower than the control throughout the monitoring period, reaching up to 87% reduction by the end.

The results indicate that SOP LAGOON is an effective and scalable strategy to reduce NH₃ emissions from liquid manure storage, with practical implications for farmers and policymakers in designing sustainable manure management practices.