Ammonia concentration is believed to increase with time in undrained settling basins, but little data exists on how quickly the ammonia accumulates. This study examined how quickly ammonia accumulates and factors that influence the ammonia accumulation.
At cold temperatures, ammonia concentrations remained at approximately the initial concentration, therefore the warmer the temperature the faster the conversion occurs. In all the tests pH remained essentially constant at approximately 6.8. Swine manure is similar to beef but converts to ammonia at a faster rate making it more important to dewater before conversion occurs. There is also more clean water to dilute the liquid from a solids settling structure immediately after an event when the concentration is the lowest. The results then show that it is important to dewater settling basins as quickly aster a rainfall as possible, before the conversion to ammonia occurs.