Demonstration of constant nitrogen and energy amounts in pig urine under acidic conditions at room temperature and determination of the minimum amount of hydrochloric acid required for nitrogen preservation in pig urine

Objective The objectives were to demonstrate that the nitrogen and energy in pig urine supplemented with hydrochloric acid (HCl) are not volatilized and to determine the minimum amount of HCl required for nitrogen preservation from pig urine. Methods In Exp. 1, urine samples of 3.0 L each with 5 different nitrogen concentrations were divided into 2 groups: 1.5 L of urine added with i) 100 mL of distilled water or ii) 100 mL of 6 N HCl. The urine in open plastic containers was placed on a laboratory table at room temperature for 10 d. The weight, nitrogen concentration, and gross energy concentration of the urine samples were determined every 2 d. In Exp. 2, three urine samples with different nitrogen concentrations were added with different amounts of 6 N HCl to obtain varying pH values. All urine samples were placed on a laboratory table for 5 d followed by nitrogen analysis. Results Nitrogen amounts in urine supplemented with distilled water decreased linearly with time, whereas those supplemented with 6 N HCl remained constant. Based on the linear broken-line analysis, nitrogen was not volatilized at a pH below 5.12 (standard error = 0.71 and p