LOW-COST AMMONIA DETECTOR FOR ANIMAL PRODUCTION HOUSES

AMMONIA IS FORMED IN ANIMAL GROWING HOUSES (AGH) AS A RESULTOF THE DECOMPOSITION OF URINE AND FECES. THE AMMONIA AFFECTS THE ANIMAL, E.G., CHICKENS, TURKEYS AND SWINE, IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: (1) IT INCREASES THEIR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DIFFERENT DISEASES, E.G., INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS; AND (2) IT REDUCES THE CONVERSION RATE OF FEED TO BODY WEIGHT. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO DEVELOP A SIMPLE, LOW-COST DEVICE AND METHODOLOGY WHICH WILL ALLOW THE PRODUCER TO RECOGNIZE WHEN THE CONCENTRATION OF AMMONIA BECOMES DANGEROUS AND THEN EITHER AERATE THE AGH OR USE OTHER MEANS TO PURIFY IN THE AIR. WE HAVE DEVELOPED FOR THEU.S. DOE AND FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE THIN-CARDS, THE SIZE OF A CREDIT CARD, WHICH CHANGE COLOR WHEN EXPOSED TO AROMATIC AMINES AND TO WARFARE GASES, RESPECTIVELY. WE HAVE SINCE EXAMINED THE FEASIBILITY OF MAKING A SIMILAR CARD WHICH CHANGES ITS COLOR IN A QUANTITATIVE MANNER WHEN EXPOSED TO AMMONIA. THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL, AS DESCRIBED BELOW. THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED WORK ARE: (1) TO IMPROVE OUR AMMONIA DETECTION WAFER SO THAT IT WILL GIVE CONSISTENT QUANTITIVE DATA, REGARDLESS OF THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY, THE AIR VELOCITY AND/OR OTHER GASEOUS IMPURITIES, AS THESE APPEAR TO BE THE DIFFICULTIES WITH EXISTING AMMONIA-DETECTING DEVICES; (2) TO CONDUCT AN ACTUAL TEST IN A CHICKEN GROWING HOUSE (CGH) WHEREBY THE IMPACT OF PROPER AMMONIA LEVEL CONTROL USING OUR AMMONIA WAFERS WILL BE EVALUATED. THIS PART OF THE WORK WILL BE COORDINATED BY PROFESSOR J. BRAKE OF THE POULTRY SCIENCE DEPT. AND BY PROFESSOR HARRIS, FORMERLY OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION, BOTH OF N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY, AND WILL BE DONE IN TWO ADJACENT CGH'S OWNED AND OPERATED BY PERDUE INC. (A MAJOR POULTRY COMPANY); AND (3) TO DEVELOP AN ELECTRONIC DETECTOR FOR AMMONIA WHICH CAN REDUCE THE AMMONIA CONCENTRATION AND TRIGGER AIR VENTILATION AND/OR AN AIR PURIFIER, AS NEEDED. THIS PART OF THE WORK WILL BE BASED ON WORK THAT WE ARE PRESENTLY CONDUCTING ON AUTOMATIC AIR CLEANING AND VENTILATION OF CONFINED AREAS, E.G., SUBMARINES.