Recently the national and international regulatory frameworks have been concerned with decreasing environmentally relevant pollutant sources in agriculture. Current developments emphasize that there is a strong need and a high public interest in finding efficient, affordable and practicable methods to reduce ammonia emissions from livestock buildings. The objective of this study was to develop a potential solution to reduce ammonia emissions using urease inhibitors. It is assumed that the application of novel urease inhibitors on stable floors will result in a diminished hydrolysis of urea and consequently reduce ammonia emission. The following goals were set for this study: To develop and set up of a measuring system in the laboratory; to study the effect of urease inhibitors on ammonia volatilization in the laboratory, as well as on stable floors in a ventilated cubicle housing system for dairy cows and in a pig fattening stable and to evaluate application methods with cost estimations and the compilation of a catalogue of measures. A wind tunnel - water bath - system was set up for the laboratory experiments, which allowed for the simulation of the conditions in a stable. This measurement system and the measuring methods were validated in a pilot study. From this, an experimental schedule was derived to study the effect of urease inhibitors on ammonia emissions. In summary, it can be concluded that useful results for all the objectives of this study were achieved. The application of urease inhibitors on cattle stable floors represents an effective method for the reduction of ammonia emissions. |