Quantification of volatile fatty acid emissions from California dairy facilities

CHED 1123

Phillip Alanis, philly86@csufresno.edu1, Mark Sorenson1, Brian Shamp1, and Alam S. Hasson, ahasson@csufresno.edu2. (1) Department of Chemistry, California State University Fresno, 2555 East San Ramon Avenue M/S SB70, Fresno, CA 93740, (2) Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, 2555 E. San Ramon Ave, Fresno, CA 93740-8034
The San Joaquin Valley in Central California suffers from high ozone levels during the summer. According to the California Air Resources Board, dairy facilities are the largest source of VOCs in the valley and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) account for over 50% of these emissions. However, these estimates are controversial because fluxes of VFAs from California dairies have not been accurately measured. In this work, a method has been developed to quantify emissions of VFAs using a flux chamber coupled to solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers, with analysis by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry The method was used to characterize emissions from various sources in six regional dairies. VFAs were present in all samples, with acetic acid being the dominant species present. Fluxes from animal feed were found to be much higher than from animal waste. The data suggest that dairies are a major source of VFAs in the region.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Environmental Chemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008