COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMIC MODEL TO SIMULATE THE DISPERSION OF ATMOSPHERIC NH3 GENERATED BY A COWSTABLE IN LA LAGUNA, MEXICO

Abstract

Stalls are one of the main causes of ammonia (NH₃) buildup. These harmful gases have increased their concentration in the air in recent years. However, there are few studies on their dispersion to the atmosphere, since they constitute a passive polluting system in livestock areas. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the distribution of NH₃ pollutants concerning temperature, humidity, and airflow in a stable, through a computational fluid dynamics model and its analysis using the K2 algorithm. The model consisted of simulated 20 production units with similar environmental conditions and took the initial values​​from data obtained from a nearby weather station in a region characterized by semi-arid climatic conditions. The highest concentration of NH₃ was obtained under a wind velocity of 0 ms^-1 due to the stagnation of the pollutant. The results indicated that levels of only 0.48 ms^-1 reduce the concentration of NH₃ by 13 %. The results were analyzed using the K2 algorithm to obtain the relationship and inferences between NH₃ emissions, air flow velocity, ambient temperature, and humidity. The analysis of the CFD approach using the K2 algorithm concluded that temperature (85 %) and humidity (98 %) are the main variables that influence the pollution produced by the distribution of NH₃ to the environment derived from livestock activity.