To find an environmentally friendly and energy efficient alternative to acidic detergent for a milking system clean-in-place (CIP) process, this study investigated the feasibility of applying slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) alone to wash the system by cleaning soiled stainless steel (304) pipes, rubber gaskets, and PVC milk hoses, which were used in the milking system. The results showed that SAEW with appropriate parameters could achieve the same or even better hygienic effects compared with commercial detergent. Using response surface models, the SAEW parameters required to clean stainless steel were optimized at 9.9 min for the treatment time, 37.8 °C for the water temperature, and 60 mg/L for the available chlorine concentration; and were 14.4 min, 29.6 °C, and 60 mg/L for rubber gasket and PVC samples, respectively. After washing with the optimized parameter combination, bacteria and adenosine triphosphate on the three materials were almost non-detectable, indicating that SAEW has the potential to replace acidic detergents in CIP milking systems.
Ammonia (NH3) concentrations in summer were continuously monitored from three typical laying hen houses of CC (conventional cage), AV (aviary), and NM (natural mating colony cage) with manure belt systems in North China Plain to quantify their emission levels, to characterize the diurnal variations, and to investigate the impact of environmental factors. Diurnal profiles were acquired by hourly measurements, and the effect of environmental factors on NH3 emissions was presented by correlation analysis. The results showed that house-level NH3 emissions in summer were the highest in the NM at 27.16 ± 13.12 mg/h·hen, followed by the AV at 4.08 ± 3.23 mg/h·hen and the CC at 3.43 ± 1.46 mg/h·hen within a complete manure removal cycle, which were significantly affected by manure accumulation inside the houses. After manure removal, NH3 concentrations were reduced by 64.29%, 28.57%, and 35.71% in CC, AV, and NM, and consequently their emissions were lowered by 67.12%, 71.36%, and 55.69%, respectively. It was suggested that the manure should not be stored on the belt for more than 4 days in NM. A positive impact of indoor and outdoor temperature and ventilation rate on NH3 emissions from AV and NM were found, while indoor and outdoor relative humidity had a negative effect. However, the above five factors did not significantly affect the emissions from CC.
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