Traceable onsite measurement of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production

Agricultural processes are the main source of ammonia emissions, and they are a significant source of methane emissions. For quantification of emissions from livestock animal housings onsite measurements for these gases are needed in parallel with certified reference standards that enable SI-traceability of the measurement results. We have developed dynamic reference gas generation method that is suitable for onsite use when calibrating the analysers and sensors applied either inside or outside the animal housings, for determination of ammonia concentrations in large enough concentration range spanning several orders of magnitude. In combination with static reference gas mixtures for greenhouse gases that are measured in parallel with ammonia, this method is used to calibrate and validate measurements of these most important molecular emissions from agriculture. We present the results of application of this methodology onsite for calibration of different types of sensors and analysers that provide the primary concentration data used in calculations sourcing data for corresponding emissions inventory reports.