Reduction of chosen gaseous pollutants from rabbit excrement in ex situ conditions, using natural manure additives

• Published in: Journal of water and land development pp. 151 - 158
• Main Authors: Karpińska, Katarzyna, Nowakowicz-Dębek, Bożena, Wrzesińska-Jędrusiak, Edyta, Jaguszewski, Sebastian, Targońska-Karasek, Małgorzata, Wlazło, Łukasz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Polish
• Published: 12.04.2024
• ISSN: 2083-4535; 2083-4535
• DOI: 10.24425/jwld.2024.150260

Animal production is a major source of environmental pollutants, so it is becoming crucial to search for new methods to reduce their release while maintaining animal welfare. The aim of the study was to apply natural additives to rabbit manure in ex situ conditions to reduce the volume of released gaseous pollutants like ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). The study was carried out in two stages, each with a control group and five experimental groups with additives, natural sorbents (zeolite, bentonite biochar, perlite, mixtures in various proportions of zeolite, biochar and bentonite as well as perlite and biochar) or dried plants containing saponins (Tribulus terrestris and Lysimachia nummularia). Pollutants from each group were measured continuously for one month. In stage 1, both in the case of NH3 and CH4, statistically significant differences were observed between the tested groups. The use of sorbent mix and Tribulus terrestris was shown to reduce the release of both NH3 (by 80% and 83%, respectively) and CH4 (by 17% and 25%, respectively). The greatest reduction of NH3 in stage 2 was achieved when perlite with the addition of biochar was used (56%), and CH4 was achieved when Bacillus azotofixans sp. nov. bacteria were used (38%).