MAIN GASES WITHIN A POULTRY FACILITY HEATED BY A FURNACE

Abstract. Considering that nowadays the consumer market is increasingly more rigorous, require not only the quality of the food, but also associates the environmental cost generated by such food, the control of the emissions of pollutants gases, like ammonia, carbon dioxide, among others, became more important to industries, being these ones now considered polluting. Based on that, the objective of the present study was quantify the concentration of ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and oxygen (O 2 ) within a poultry facility heated by a furnace. The experiment was carried out in the Poultry Production Sector, belonging to Animal Science Department, Federal University of Vicosa, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The samples of air were collected at 50 cm height inside the cyclone, that is a part of the furnace, before the air entry point and the top of that component. Gases were also collected in the transition duct, between the fan and the facility. In addition, more samples were randomly harvested inside the facility. The device used was the TESTO 300XL sensor, that recorded the concentration of CO 2 , CO and O 2 . To determine the ammonia concentration in the poultry litter, it was applied the method mentioned by Hernandez & Cazeta (2001). The collections referred above were performed under the presence of the birds in the facility. The average concentration of ammonia was found to be 2.3 ppm, within the limits tolerable and/or acceptable for poultry, according to specialized literature. For the CO, the concentration was kept around 0.1%, whereas for O 2 it was 21%; CO 2 was found in the concentration ranging from 0.6 to 0.8%, during the occurrence of the highest temperature values in the gases sensor. The air inside the facility, heated by means the hot gases that come from the furnace was, in a practical sense, free of CO 2 and CO, that would be usually resulting from the incomplete combustion. Considering the air quality as a parameter, it was clear the feasibility of the deployment of this type of furnace as a heating system.