J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2000) 2:51–56
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Takashi Osada · Kazutaka Kuroda · Michihiro Yonaga
Determination of nitrous oxide, methane, and ammonia emissions from
a swine waste composting process
Received: September 11, 1998 / Accepted: November 8, 1999
Abstract
The amounts of harmful gas emissions from the process of
composting swine waste were determined using an experi-
mental composting apparatus. Forced aeration (19.2–96.1
l/m3/min) was carried out continuously, and exhaust gases
were collected and analyzed periodically. With weekly
turning and the addition of a bulking agent in order to
decrease the moisture content and increase air permeabil-
ity, the temperature of most of the contents rose to 70°C
and composting was complete within 3–5 weeks. NH3, CH4,
and N2O emissions were high in the early stage of com-
posting. About 10%–25% of the nitrogen in the raw mate-
rial was lost as NH3 gas during composting. The emission
rate of NH3 mainly depended on the aeration rate, so
that as the aeration rate rose, the level of NH3 emissions
increased. The CH4 and N2O emissions could be kept
lower with adequate treatment at more than 40 l/m3/min
aeration. N2O may be mainly the result of the denitrifica-
tion of NOx-N in the additional matured compost used as a
composting accelerator.
Key words Composting · N2O and CH4 emissions ·
NH3 emission · Swine waste · Greenhouse gas
Introduction
Livestock waste was traditionally used for the fertilization
of crops until it was gradually replaced by chemical fertiliz-
T. Osada (*) · K. Kuroda · M. Yonaga
Laboratory of Livestock Waste Management, National Institute of
Animal Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries,
Tsukuba Norindanchi PO Box 5, Ibaraki 305, Japan
Tel. +81-298-38-8676; Fax +81-298-38-8606,8700
e-mail: osada@niai.affrc.go.jp
Part of this paper was presented at the 8th Annual Conference of the
Japan Society of Waste Management Experts (October 28–30, 1997,
Kawaguchi, Japan) and the International Symposium of Ammonia and
Odour Control from Animal Production Facilities (October 6–10, 1998,
The Netherlands)
© Springer-Verlag 2000
ers. Consequently, excess livestock waste has accumulated
around livestock facilities. Such enormous accumulations
have caused pollution problems. In Japan, compost is the
main product derived from livestock waste. The objectives
of composting are to stabilize the biodegradable organic
matter in raw waste, to reduce offensive odors, to kill weed
seeds and pathogenic organisms, and finally, to produce a
uniform organic fertilizer suitable for land application. It is
important to treat livestock waste appropriately prior to its
utilization as a resource.
It has to be admitted that unsuitable handling and/or
treatment of livestock waste has caused the emission of
harmful gases from livestock production facilities.1 The NH3
emission from livestock production has been evaluated in a
large number of studies, 2–4 and these have demonstrated
the need for a solution to this problem.
Recent studies have suggested that livestock waste con-
tributes significantly to the emission of CH4 and N2O, which
are major greenhouse gases. Some efforts have already been
made to quantify these emissions from livestock waste
stores5,6 and treatment systems.7,8
Little is known about CH4 and N2O emissions during the
composting of livestock waste, and reliable estimates of
such emissions are needed.
The purpose of this study was, (1) to evaluate CH4, N2O,
and NH3 emission rates from the process of composting
swine waste, (2) to examine the effects of the flow rate of
forced aeration on those gas emissions, and (3) to clarify the
effect on those gas emissions of the addition of matured
compost as a composting accelerator.
Materials and methods
Composting materials
The characteristics of the materials for composting in this
study are shown in Table 1. Swine waste was collected from
the fattening swine confinement building in our institute.
The initial moisture content and nitrogen content were
70.7 ± 2.0% of wet base and 3.5 ± 0.5% of dry base,
52

Table 1. Characteristics of materials for composting (mean and SD)

Items Unit Swine waste Matured compost Corrugated paper
(n = 14) (n = 7) (n = 2)

Solid contents % 29.3 ± 2.0 65.0 ± 1.2 92.7

Organic matter % 25.0 ± 1.4 46.7 ± 5.4 87.2
Total nitrogen % DM 3.5 ± 0.5 3.72 ± 0.02 0.17
NH4-N % DM 0.43 ± 0.05 0.17 ± 0.13 Not detected
NOx-N % DM Not detected 0.17 ± 0.06 Not detected
pH (2 N KCl) – 7.06 ± 0.05 7.58 ± 0.18 6.05

ture content of 65% by mixing with corrugated paper. The

initial materials contained nitrogen at about 180–190 g
(control: swine waste and corrugated paper mixture) or
about 211–221 g (additional: swine waste, corrugated paper,
and matured compost). The mixture was packed in the
reactor (52 l active volume) and then fixed in thermocou-
ples at 10, 30, and 50 cm above the bottom at the center of
the mixture. After sealing the cap on the reactor, aeration
was started. The compost mixture was removed from the
reactor, re-mixed (by turning), and replaced weekly until
the temperature of the materials in the reactor failed to
reach 40°C.

Solid sample analysis

Two hundred grams of composting mixture in the reactor

Fig. 1. Composting apparatus
respectively. Matured compost, which was used as a com-
posting accelerator, had been produced beforehand from
swine waste and sawdust. It had been piled up on a water-
proof floor for 6 weeks and turned over weekly. In addition,
the matured compost contained a small amount of easily
decomposable organic matter evaluated according to its bio-
chemical oxygen demand (BOD) (under 100 mgO2/g), and
obviously it also contained NOx-N. Those parameters guar-
anteed the maturity of the compost. Before being used, it
was dried naturally and sieved (16 mesh) to eliminate large
pieces. Small pieces of corrugated paper (less than 2 cm
each) were used as a bulking agent devoid of heavy metals.
Composting apparatus
As illustrated in Fig. 1, the composting apparatus consisted
of a small reactor (52 l), a cap with a condensed-water trap,
an aeration pump, an air-flow meter, a water trap, and a
data logger (Thermodac E, ETO Electrics, Tokyo, Japan)
connected to thermocouples. The reactor was covered with
styrofoam (30 mm) and supported with a plywood board to
prevent heat loss.9
was collected weekly, and the moisture content, organic
materials, total nitrogen content, NH4-N, NOx-N, pH, and
BOD were measured. The moisture content and organic
matter content were determined after drying and ashing
periods of more than 6 h at 105°C and 550°C, respectively.
Total nitrogen was calculated from Kjeldahl nitrogen10 plus
NOx-N. NH4-N, NOx-N,11 and pH (glass electrodes) were
measured in a 1 : 8 (sample mixture/2N KCl, w/v) extract of
the mixture. BOD was analyzed by a coulometric respirom-
eter (Ohkura Riken, Tokyo, Japan).
Exhaust gas analysis
The exhaust gases from the reactor were collected every
6 h for 3 days from the start of composting, and then every
24 h until the end of the experiment. At the time of exaust
gas sampling, a cooling flask (“g” in Fig. 1) was connected
through which the gas was collected for analysis. N2O
and CH4 were determined by gas chromatography using
an electron capture detector (ECD) and a flame-ionized
detector (FID), respectively. NH3 was monitored with
indicator tubes (Ammonia detector tube, GASTEC, Ayase,
Japan).

Composting operation Calculation

Swine waste (18 kg), or a mixture of swine wastes (18 kg) The integrated values of NH3, CH4, and N2O in the exhaust
and matured compost (1.8 kg), were conditioned at a mois- gas from the composting reactor were calculated as follows:
 53

About 10–25% of the nitrogen in the raw material was lost

F = ÂÁ
(
Ê [GAS] - [GAS] ¥Q
out in
ˆ
¥ Kt ˜
) as NH3 gas during swine feces composting. Figure 2 shows
Á Vcompost ˜ a clear trend towards increasing NH3 emissions to about
Ë ¯
where F denotes the GAS (NH3 or CH4 or N2O) emission
rate (g GAS/m3) during composting, [GAS]out is the exhaust
(outlet) gas concentration (g GAS/m3), [GAS]in is the inlet
gas concentration (g GAS/m3), Q is the aeration rate
(m3/m3/min), Vcompost is the volume of compost (0.052 m3),
and Kt is the gas sampling interval (360 min or 1440 min).
Result and discussion
The temperature of most of the contents of all runs rose
above 70°C until 48 h after the start with no temperature
control. All the experimental runs were contained until the
temperature of the materials in the reactor failed to reach
40°C. This took 3 weeks at more than about 50 l/m3/min
aeration, or 5 weeks at less than about 20 l/m3/min aeration.
The BOD of all the final products was confirmed at under
100 mgO2/g. Since we wanted to evaluate the total emission
of harmful gases throughout the composting periods, the
apparatus used in this experiment had to be able to produce
compost as a final product.
80 l/m3/min. The correlation coefficient (R) was 0.926. That
phenomenon was to be expected, since NH3 was mainly
generated from the oxidative degradation of organic mate-
rials due to aerobic microorganisms. When the aeration
rate was too high (about 100 l/m3/min), the moisture
content of part of the compost mixture dropped too low
for microorganisms to grow. Further evidence shows that
microorganism activity was regulated to a higher level than
could be seen in the slow degradation of BOD (data not
shown). That may be the reason for the decrease in NH3
emissions at a high rate of aeration. Additions of matured
compost did not affect NH3 emissions during composting.
Changes in NH3 concentration in the exhaust gas during
composting are shown in Fig. 3b, 4b, and 5b. The concen-
tration increased sharply and reached a peak 1–2 days after
the initial day of composting (3500–4000 ppm), and a sharp
increase was also observed at weekly turnings at aeration
rates of 76.9 l/m3/min (Fig. 4b) and 96.1 l/m3/min (Fig. 5b).
These dropped rapidly after the peak. At aeration rates of

Ammonia emission

Experimentally determined NH3 emission rates from the

mixture were plotted against the aeration flow rate (Fig.
2). According to this experiment, 1 m3 of initial compost
mixture (360–385 kg) would contain about 4000 g nitrogen.

Fig. 2. Effect of flow rate of forced aeration on ammonia emission Fig. 3. Changes in a material temperature 30 cm above the bottom in
during composting. Additional, additions of matured compost as a com- the center of the mixture, b ammonia, c methane, and d nitrous oxide
posting accelerator with a swine waste and corrugated paper mixture; concentration of exhaust gas under 38.5 l/m3/min aeration with matured
control, swine waste and corrugated paper mixture compost added
54

Fig. 4. Changes in a material temperature 30 cm above the bottom in Fig. 5. Changes in a material temperature 30 cm above the bottom in
the center of the mixture, b ammonia, c methane, and d nitrous oxide the center of the mixture, b ammonia, c methane, and d nitrous oxide
concentration of exhaust gas under 76.9 l/m3/min aeration with matured concentration of exhaust gas under 96.1 l/m3/min aeration with matured
compost added compost added

38.5 l/m3/min, the NH3 concentration did not rise much

further, remaining steady at 2000 ppm until after the first
turning (Fig. 3b). Changes in the temperature of materials
during composting showed the same trends as NH3 changes
under each set of conditions (Figs. 3a, 4a, 5a). Heat genera-
tion in the compost is caused by the activity of aerobic
microorganisms. As a result, the degradation of organic
materials in the mixture might be relatively slow at the
initial stage of composting, i.e., at an aeration rate of less
than 38.5 l/m3/min due to the shortage of oxygen (O2 < 5%)
for the aerobic microorganisms (data not shown).

Methane emission

Figure 6 shows the CH4 emission rates from the mixture

plotted against the aeration ratio. At aeration rates exceed-
ing 40 l/m3/min, the CH4 emission rate was regulated to less
than 30 g CH4/m3 during composting. Most of that emis-
sion might have come from feces contents produced in the
Fig. 6. Effect of flow rate of forced aeration on methane emission
swine’s large intestine. In contrast, extremely high emission during composting. Additional, additions of matured compost as a com-
rates were observed at aeration rates of 19.2 l/m3/min. posting accelerator with a swine waste and corrugated paper mixture;
Compost materials were not evenly distributed, and con- control, swine waste and corrugated paper mixture

tained many readily oxidative compounds. When aeration
was insufficient, those compounds might have anaerobic
elements whose redox conditions were low enough to gen-
erate methane. Over 90% of the total emission occurred
in the early hours of composting under slightly anaerobic
conditions (O2 < 5%), in which case the emission might
be mainly due to increasing the aeration rate (Figs. 3c, 4c,
5c). No emission of CH4 could be detected after 3 days from
the start of composting. Additional effects of matured
compost in the composting mixture were not significant
(Fig. 6).
Nitrous oxide emission
The relationships between N2O emissions during com-
posting and the aeration rate are shown in Fig. 7. Like CH4
emissions, N2O emissions were controlled by increasing the
aeration rate. The addition of matured compost strongly
increased N2O emissions during composting (Fig. 7).
Most of the total emission occurred in the early hours
of composting (Figs. 3d, 4d, 5d). Under slightly anaerobic
conditions in the early period of composting, NOx-N can be
denitrified rapidly, and N2O might be generated. Since
there is no NOx-N in fresh swine waste, it all come from
matured compost (Table 1). Figure 8 shows the relationship
between the NOx-N (nitrite and nitrate) content in the
mixture and N2O-N emissions during composting in this
experiment. A close correlation (R = 0.962) was found. In
that case, the ratio of emitted N2O (N2O-N) and NOx-N in
the mixture was about 60%. Such a high rate of N2O emis-
sions was also observed in composting when KNO3 was
added as a nitrate without matured compost mixture (data
not shown).
Fig. 7. Effect of flow rate of forced aeration on nitrous oxide emission
during composting. Additional, additions of matured compost as a com-
posting accelerator with a swine waste and corrugated paper mixture;
control, swine waste and corrugated paper mixture
55
The N2O emissions increased again after every turning
(Figs. 3d, 4d, 5d). According to Smith and Patrick,12
exposure to a variety of oxidation–reduction conditions
enhanced N2O emissions from cultivated soil. Redox poten-
tial in compost material may be uneven, and its profile
would be changed dramatically by turning. Viewed in the
light of the total quantity of emissions, this phenomenon is
probably not an important factor in composting.
Conclusion
NH3, CH4, and N2O emissions from swine waste com-
posting were determined using an experimental composting
apparatus. Gas emissions were high in the early stage of
composting. About 10–25% of the nitrogen in the raw
material was lost as NH3 gas during swine feces com-
posting. The emission rates mainly depended on the flow
rate of aeration, and as the aeration rate was raised, the
level of NH3 emissions increased. NH3 emission rates varied
from 400 to 970 g NH3-N/m3. CH4 and N2O emission rates
were from 0.6 to 385 g CH4/m3 and from 1.9 to 71.9 g N2O-
N/m3, respectively. CH4 and N2O emissions can be con-
trolled with over 40 l/m3/min aeration. N2O might be mainly
the result of the denitrification of NOx-N in the compost
mixture.
Acknowledgments The authors express their sincere thanks to Dr. K.
Haga and Dr. Y. Tanaka, NIAI, for their scientific advice. The techni-
cal assistance of Mrs. K. Sumiya is gratefully acknowledged. We also
thank Ms. A. Kanematsu and Ms. T. Nitta for assisting with gas analy-
ses, as well as Mrs. L. Nøkkentved and Dr. H. Takai for reviewing the
manuscript.
Fig. 8. Relationship between NOx-N content in mixtures of compost
and nitrous oxide emission during composting
56
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