Grantee Research Project Results

Farms with Clean and Healthy Air: A Novel Intelligent System for Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting of Air Quality

EPA Grant Number: SU841121
Title: Farms with Clean and Healthy Air: A Novel Intelligent System for Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting of Air Quality
Investigators: Sun, Gang , Hopfensperger, Kristy , Durtsche, Richard
Institution: Northern Kentucky
EPA Project Officer: Brooks, Donald
Phase: I
Project Period: March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2027
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: 21st Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet Phase I (2024) RFA Text
Research Category: P3 Awards , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Air Toxics , Human Health , Air , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , Environment

Description:

The U.S. livestock industry is under increasing public scrutiny, particularly concerning the health and environmental impacts of livestock pollutants. Since the late 1990s, environmental and citizen groups have required animal producers to comply with CERCLA or EPCRA reporting requirements. However, the livestock industry has historically been exempted from reporting hazardous air emissions to government agencies due to the high cost and impracticality of conducting emission measurements using existing research-based air quality monitoring equipment. Thus, there is an urgent need within the livestock industry for a quick, easy, and cost-effective method to estimate air emissions. The following project tasks are proposed: 1) Designing an embedded ESP32-based air pollutant measurement system to quantify indoor gas concentrations; 2) Selecting and calibrating EPA approved NH3 monitors, CO2 sensors, and CH4 detectors capable of operating effectively in harsh livestock environments for extended periods without frequent calibration; 3) Estimating the building ventilation rate using an indirect method based on a CO2 balance and providing reasonable measurements of gas emissions; 4) Installing and testing the intelligent systems in the field to ensure their functionality in real-world conditions; and 5) Creating training videos to educate farmers and environmental scientists on the proper use and maintenance of the air quality monitoring system, thereby facilitating its widespread adoption and long-term sustainability.

Objective:

Our proposed project aims to design, develop, and test an innovative and low-cost intelligent air quality monitoring system for livestock producers. This system enables producers to measure real-time air emission data and report it to government agencies. Through the implementation of P3-supported new air quality monitoring technology, our research endeavors to enhance human health and wellbeing, bolster economic competitiveness in animal agriculture,
and safeguard rural environments. The innovative aspects of this project include utilizing a low-cost, highly-integrated Wi-Fi system-on-chip (SoC) ESP32-S3 as the primary microcontroller to interconnect a variety of hardware devices (e.g., gas sensors, signal conditioning circuits, OLED display, routers, keys
and indicators, etc.) and farmers’ smart phones/tablets via self-contained Wi-Fi networking. Existing literature highlights the absence of economically viable air quality monitoring solutions for livestock producers. Our project fills this gap, empowering producers to measure and report 3 actual gas emissions to regulatory agencies such as the EPA. Furthermore, the air quality data collected by this intelligent system holds significant potential for informing environmental policy decisions by the EPA and other relevant agencies.

Expected Results:

The anticipated outcomes of this project will be realized through the design, development, and testing of an innovative intelligent air quality monitoring and reporting system. This system will enable livestock producers to assess daily air emission inventories without the need for costly air emission measurement equipment. It will also support the reporting of actual air emission measurements to government agencies and aid in informed decision-making regarding the selection and implementation of emission mitigation techniques. Furthermore, the air quality data collected by this monitoring system is expected to be utilized by environmental scientists and regulatory agencies to inform the development of new environmental protection legislation.

Supplemental Keywords:

agricultural air quality, gas concentrations and emissions, sustainable livestock production systems, environmental protection, SoC (System-on-Chip), wireless communications