Software program for ventilation rates estimation and greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions quantification from naturally ventilated dairy barns

Abstract

To estimate the ventilation rates and to quantify the greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ammonia (NH₃) emissions from naturally ventilated dairy barns, several calculations and procedures should be accomplished; this necessitates time and efforts, with the probability of making mistakes. This study aims at developing a tool to support users, engineers, and specialists in performing these computations by developing a software program that can be installed on laptops and personal computers to save time and efforts. A mathematical model was developed to perform the calculations. Afterwards, a flowchart was created, and the mathematical model was integrated into the flowchart. Subsequently, Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0 Service Pack 2.0 was used to develop the software program by combining the flowchart and the mathematical model and creating the user interface. Data were acquired from dairy farms, governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and literatures. The data acquired were used to perform the calculations using the conventional method to generate results which were compared with the results generated by the developed software. The results of both conventional method and the software were identical. The developed software is capable of computing the ventilation rates, the emissions of greenhouse gases, and the emissions of ammonia from naturally ventilated dairy barns.