Aarhus Universitets segl

Research

Our research is divided in two interlinked subareas:

  • Development of new chemical and biological air cleaning technologies for abatement of emissions from livestock production. This research involves developing new catalytic technologies based on dissolved metal ions, new advanced oxidation technologies, new solid-phase air treatment materials and optimization of biological air treatment systems. The challenge is to achieve cost-effective technologies and to overcome this, mass transfer optimization is a major focus area.
  • Development and implementation of new analytical tools for technology assessment and source documentation. This research is focusing on new applications of online mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for monitoring low concentrations of gaseous compounds as well as linking analytical data to sensory assessment of odor. In addition, PTR-MS is used for quantifying emission sources (VOC and sulfur compounds) of atmospheric pollutants from agriculture and for identifying formation pathways in complex sources by application of stable isotopes.

We have a well-equipped air physics lab with two quadrupole PTR-MS instruments and one hot-inlet high-resolution time-of-flight PTR-MS. In addition, we use cavity-ring-down spectroscopy for detection of ammonia and greenhouse gases as well as for measuring isotope patterns in methane and carbon dioxide. To support the online measurements, we use offline analysis by GC/MS and GC with sulfur specific chemiluminescence detection.

For development of air cleaning and characterization of sorbent materials, we use specially designed filter columns. We have an extensive supply of equipment (e.g. mass flow controllers) for gas mixing, conditioning and instrument calibration.

On top of this, we have access to a unique livestock emission facility with live animals and flexible manure and ventilation management systems.