Ventilated Floor Assembly for Ammonia Reduction in Chicken Houses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Chicken houses face challenges with high levels of ammonia, methane, and carbon dioxide emissions, leading to growth inhibition, disease susceptibility, and poor environmental conditions for birds, along with issues in manure management and ventilation efficiency, which affect bird health and production costs.
Innovation Solution
A ventilated floor assembly with a geotextile carpet and impermeable plastic modules creates a sub-atmospheric pressure differential to remove air-borne contaminants and moisture from the manure, using exhaust fans and indirect evaporative coolers to maintain dry conditions and improve ventilation, temperature, and humidity control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional ventilation systems are used to remove ammonia and other gases, then gas removal is achieved, but cold air is introduced into the facility during cold weather with minimal ventilation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes ammonia and other harmful gases from the chicken house atmosphere through controlled ventilation, separating the gas removal function from the temperature control function. The system extracts contaminants while minimizing cold air introduction by using targeted exhaust placement and controlled ventilation rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes ventilation parameters (airflow rate, exhaust temperature, ventilation timing) to optimize both ammonia removal efficiency and temperature maintenance. By adjusting these parameters, the system achieves effective gas removal while minimizing the introduction of cold air during cold weather periods.
2Temperature
If evaporative coolers are used to reduce temperature, then cooling is achieved, but humidity increases which is conducive to ammonia and pathogen production
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the harmful effect of humidity into a beneficial outcome by using the evaporative cooling process to reduce temperature while simultaneously managing humidity levels through improved ventilation and exhaust systems. The system harnesses the evaporative cooling effect while preventing the associated humidity buildup that would otherwise promote ammonia and pathogen production.
3Productivity
If chickens are housed at high density to improve production, then production efficiency increases, but carbon dioxide flushing ability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses pneumatic principles to create effective gas flushing through the chicken flock at high density. The system employs pressurized air injection and controlled airflow patterns that penetrate through the dense bird population, enabling efficient carbon dioxide removal despite the high chicken density that maximizes production efficiency.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional floor systems are used, then construction is simple, but manure removal is difficult and ammonia formation is high
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs porous floor materials and ventilated floor systems that allow air circulation through the manure layer. This porous structure facilitates moisture evaporation and ammonia gas removal while maintaining a simple construction approach. The floor system enables passive ammonia reduction through its porous architecture without requiring complex mechanical components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces ammonia formation, improves bird growth and health, enhances uniformity, and facilitates easier manure removal, reducing the spread of pathogens and increasing production efficiency while minimizing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
creates a sub-atmospheric pressure differential to remove air-borne contaminants and moisture from the manure
Implementation Method 2
exhaust fans and indirect evaporative coolers to maintain dry conditions
Implementation Method 3
indirect evaporative coolers to maintain dry conditions and improve ventilation, temperature, and humidity control
Data Source
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AI summary
A chicken or fowl grow out facility (11) utilizes a ventilated floor assembly- including a ventilated floor (64) through which liquid and gas can flow, but which retains manure deposited thereon, and a closed bottom floor plenum (62) underneath the ventilated floor, which includes a liquid and vapor barrier (60) covering the ground surface. Blowers in an attic plenum can discharge warm air through hanging pleated conduit tubes into the floor plenum to provide heat through the ventilated floor. A plurality of indirect evaporative coolers (42) and associated air blowers (44) in the facility walls force outside air, cooled or uncooled, into the growth facility, and create higher pressure in the growth facility than the pressure in the floor plenum. Vacuum blowers (72) associated with the floor plenum cause the flow of air and air-borne contaminates through the floor and exhaust same from the plenum to outside the facility which dries manure on the floor and reduces ammonia formation and pathogen growth. A movable power-driven pusher wall pushes the marketing age fowl onto a conveyor for harvesting.