PRECISION COMBUSTION, INC. — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.3

Description

We are developing a portable photocatalytic air purifier for reduction of ammonia levels in poultryhouses. This will be effective regardless environmental conditions integrate with existingventilation equipment enable cleaner air for improved poultry productivity and weight gains andhave a cost payback of about one year. Our approach will reduce the number of air changes neededto maintain indoor air quality during colder months. Cleaner indoor air will reduce the consumptionof propane used to heat ventilation air during these colder periods. Other benefits of this approachinclude reduced emissions of ammonia from animal operations and reduced impact of NH3 andNOx on the environment and lessen impact on waterways and ground water.Ammonia removal from animal agricultural operations is critical to the well-being of the animalsworkers and the environment. This can be accomplished by increased outside air ventilation use ofscrubbers or sorbents changes to animal feed or litter amendments. None of these options aresatisfactory as they all either shift the problem elsewhere or add equipment and operating costs.Effective permanent ammonia elimination is possible with PCI's novel high-intensity photocatalyticreactor technology which outperforms existing photo-reactors in terms of ability to convertreactants to products while enabling conversion of reactants to harmless products at significantlyincreased flow rates enabling the decomposition of ammonia to water and nitrogen gas in a low- cost package. Phase II work will include detailed economics and assess system durability via on-sitepoultry house field trials.