Influence of different pig housing systems on odor emissions

The odor emissions from two different housing systems were determined during three fattening periods from October 1999 to November 2000 by analyzing weekly samples by means of dynamic olfactometry. The objects of the investigations were a standard housing system with fully slatted floor and forced ventilation (FF) compared with a kennel housing system with natural shaft ventilation (KN) in parallel operation. Only little data but with a wide range of odor emission values are available from the literature and these are difficult to compare and interpret, because of missing standards in presenting the results and experimental conditions. Therefore minimum requirements for measuring odor emissions from livestock buildings have been derived. In the scope of the measurements during the first two fattening periods (October 1999 to June 2000), no differences in odor emissions could be determined with mean values related to the livestock units (1 LU = 500 kg life weight) of 85 (FF) /87 (KN) in period A and 60 (FF) / 61 (KN) (OU/s)LU(-1) in period B. The overall range of the results of all measurements in periods A and B was 4 to 355 (OU/s)LU(-1). In period C (August-November 2000), the system FF showed higher odor emissions with 193 (28-550) compared to system KN with 105 (25-218) (OU/s)LU(-1). The air flow rates and odor concentrations at the three different naturally ventilated exhaust shafts of system KN differed considerably from each other. Odor measurement techniques with a higher temporal resolution than olfactometry are necessary to give evidence for the main factors influencing the odor formation and release.