Use of surface films to reduce ammonia volatilization from flooded rice fields

Abstract

This paper presents the results of experiments on the control of ammonia volatilization from flooded rice by the use of surface films of organic compounds.Preliminary experiments in evaporation pans, 1.2 m diameter, buried in an upland field of mown pasture, showed that ammonia volatilization from water could be reduced by applications of surface films of long chain alcohols; the effect increased with increasing length of carbon chain.The most effective way to add the film was to dissolve the long chain alcohol in ethanol, and to distribute the solution on the surface of the water.In an experiment in a flooded rice field, additions of cetyl alcohol dissolved in ethanol significantly reduced the rate of ammonia emission and total nitrogen loss. The effect was short-lived, probably due to microbiological decomposition of the cetyl alcohol and dispersion of the surface film by strong winds.