Concentrated animal feeding operations a variety of potential pollutants, such as ammonia and particulate matter (PM). Ammonia is toxic to human beings and can have negative effects on nearby ecosystems. PM affects human health by absorbing toxic chemicals and viruses which can be absorbed by lung tissue; it is also responsible for change of visibility and climate. Field measurements are time consuming, costly, and can only provide a limited amount of data, but air dispersion models can serve as an alternative solution, especially if coupled with field sampling. The Gaussian plume model (GPM) is a mathematical based model that assumes steady state conditions. Previous studies have used the GPM to evaluate and analyze the pollutant discharges from animal houses, as well as estimate the strength of an emission source. GPM has been used to simulate plume from point source, line source, areal source, and volume source. However, much less is known about utilizing GPM to simulate plumes from horizontal sources, such as the exhaust fans from poultry houses. Thus, the purpose of this study is to modify and to validate GPM to predict air pollutant emissions from the poultry houses. Two major assumptions were applied on the model, 1) proposed a virtual releasing point behind the ventilation fan and 2) assumed that the ventilation fan dominated the wind direction in the model within short distance (&lt; 50 m). The modified model was validated by field experimental data. Performance and sensitivity of the model were evaluated. Fraction of predictions within a factor of two of observations (FAC2) of NH<sub>3</sub> and PM were 0.609 and 0.625. Model-predicted concentrations of NH<sub>3</sub> were 1.5 times of the observed values on average. Model-predicted concentrations of PM was 0.98 times of the observed values on average.

Prediction of air pollutants emission from poultry houses by a modified Gaussian plume model

254th National Meeting (2017)

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