To represent the odor dispersion with the use of mathematical models, the odor emission rate should be defined as it is an input parameter of the model. Odor emission rates from open manure tanks are difficult to evaluate and a study was realized to develop a numerical evaluation of air flow and odor emission rate. The tank dimensions, the odor concentration at the manure surface, the manure surface area and the wind speed were input parameters for the mathematical model developed using the SIMPLER algorithm from Patankar and a 2-layer turbulence model to realize numerical simulation with a 152 x 139 grid. Experimental verifications were performed to validate the model for air flow pattern and velocity profile and the emission rate results obtained agreed with field measurements obtained in the literature.

Dispersion models can be effective tool to evaluate the odor dispersion pattern of an odorant source and the area affected. As mentioned, another numerical model was needed to evaluate the odor emission rate of open manure tanks and those odor emissions rate are costly to evaluate with field measurements.