Niveles de amoniaco y características del purín en un cebadero porcino en el Valle del Ebro. Influencia de la orientación y de la exposición a los vientos dominantes

Abstract

This study evaluated whether the air NH3 concentrations inside a typical pig finishing unit of two parallel buildings were influenced by the prevalent winds and by the location inside the buildings. The farm had two North-oriented equal buildings (1 and 2) 10 m away. West front of building 1 was lashed by prevailing N-W cold and dry wind. Each building had 2 corridors. Ventilation was natural, with inlets in both walls and outlets in the roof. NH3 was recorded fortnightly at 10:00 (March-July). Additionally, 4 slurry samplings per building were taken on each control, and mixed for determination of conductivity, temperature and pH. Windows were closed during controls 1 to 5, and opened from control 6. There was a significant effect of the corridor on NH3 concentrations, lower on corridor 1 than on 2 either up to control 5 (11.1±5.8 vs. 17.4±9.7 ppm; P<0.05) or from control 6 (2.9±0.4 vs. 4.4±0.5 ppm; P<0.05). Except for the pH, slurry parameters were lower in the first half of the fattening period than in the second half. These results highlight the significance of the prevalent winds from the Ebro Valley on the inside environmental parameters of pig facilities, particularly on NH3 concentrations.