Ammonia Odor Control in Poultry Farms with Closed Housing Systems: A Review of Effective Technologies for Indonesia
Marry Christiyanto *
Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Central Java, Indonesia.
Cahya Setya Utama
Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Central Java, Indonesia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This narrative review synthesises evidence-based ammonia mitigation technologies for closed-house poultry farms in Indonesia, focusing on manure management, low-protein diets, litter amendments, real-time monitoring and exhaust-treatment systems suited to tropical conditions. Peer-reviewed literature published from 2017 to 2026 was searched and evaluated for methodological quality and applicability to Indonesia's tropical agricultural context. Only peer-reviewed articles were included. Five intervention categories were examined: manure management; low-protein diets with amino acid supplementation; litter amendments, including zeolite, biochar, rice husk and coconut shell biochar; IoT-based real-time NH₃ monitoring; and exhaust-treatment technologies, including biofilters and acid scrubbers. Sodium bisulfate was the most effective litter acidifier, followed by biochar and zeolite. Zeolite at 8-11% (w/w) reduced NH₃ emissions by 20-33%, while biochar produced at 550°C through pyrolysis reduced nitrogen emissions by 55-60%. Acid scrubbers were reported to reduce NH₃ by up to 96%, compared with 42-67% for biofilters. Reducing dietary crude protein by 25 g/kg decreased nitrogen excretion by 25.8%; combined strategies involving low-protein diets, acid scrubbers, biofilters and manure application were reported to reduce emissions by up to 89.3%. Indonesia's annual rice husk production, estimated at approximately 10.10 million tonnes, could generate around 3.89 million tonnes of biochar as a scalable local resource. An integrated multi-strategy approach combining manure management, dietary protein reduction, litter amendments, real-time IoT-based monitoring and exhaust treatment offers a sustainable framework for ammonia mitigation in Indonesian poultry farms, with locally available materials providing climate-appropriate options for small- to medium-scale operations.
Keywords: Ammonia mitigation, closed-house poultry, broiler production, ammonia emissions, manure management, low-protein diet, litter amendments, biochar, zeolite, real-time monitoring, acid scrubber, tropical poultry systems.