Contribution of livestock H<sub>2</sub>S to total sulfur emissions in a region with intensive animal production.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29051487.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-01016-2 and PMC identifier 5648877.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S) from agricultural sources is generally not included in sulfur emission estimates even though H<sub>2</sub>S is the major sulfur compound emitted from livestock production. Here we show that in a country with intensive livestock production (Denmark), agriculture constitute the most important sulfur source category (~49% of all sources of sulfur dioxide), exceeding both the production industry and energy categories. The analysis is based on measurements of H<sub>2</sub>S using proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry. National emissions are obtained using ammonia as a reference pollutant with the validity of this approach documented by the high correlation of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions. Finisher pig production is the most comprehensively characterized agricultural source of sulfur and is estimated to be the largest source of atmospheric sulfur in Denmark. The implication for other locations is discussed and the results imply that the understanding and modeling of atmospheric sulfate sources should include agricultural H<sub>2</sub>S.
Medical subject headings
- Environmental Monitoring
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Livestock