Date of Graduation
5-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Haggard, Brian E. (Brian Edward).
Committee Member/Reader
Liang, Yi
Committee Member/Second Reader
Zaharoff, David A.
Abstract
The addition of chemical amendments to land applied poultry litter is paramount to the maintenance of acceptable phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) levels in stormwater runoff from pasture. Chitin is the chief component of shrimp shells, and together with its more processed form chitosan, may show promising P, N, and metal ion chelation characteristics by virtue of its chemical structure and unique charge distribution. The objective of this study was to measure the effects of aluminum sulfate (alum, Al2(SO4)3) on aqueous solubility of P and ammonia (NH3) release against those of chitin and three varieties of chitosan in poultry litter. The experiments revealed that while chitin has little to no effect on water extractable P (WEP), all three varieties of chitosan show decreases in WEP not significantly different from those of alum. While alum significantly decreased NH3 volatilization from litter samples, neither chitin nor chitosan significantly affected released NH3.
Keywords
poultry science, phosphorus
Citation
Bailey, I. M. (2012). Chitosan reduces water solubility of phosphorus in poultry litter. Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/baeguht/22