Liu aims to develop an integrated research and extension program in agricultural air quality, with the following three focuses: emissions from livestock facilities, smoke from the Flint Hills pasture burning, and climate change. The goal is to effectively influence producers to move agricultural production toward practices that are environmentally sound and economically viable, and to assist Kansas regulators in addressing critical air quality issues that impact the sustainability of local communities.
Research Interests:
- Air quality monitoring and modeling, fate and transport of air emissions from agricultural sources, cost effective mitigation strategies.
- Best management practices or plans for agricultural production systems, including waste management, nutrient management, and environmental management, etc.
- Impact of climate change and our strategies, and other environmental issues impacting sustainability of agricultural production.
- Data science and data processing techniques
- Meta-analysis and systematic review
- Satellite data for air quality applications
- Life cycle assessment
Recent Research Topics:
- Impact of smoke from prescribed burning on air quality and climate
- Synergistic use of satellite, drone and ground data for air quality applications
- Receptor modeling of air pollutants at rural and urban sites in Kansas
- Ozone and secondary organic aerosols
- Carbon footprint of livestock production
- Life cycle assessment on agricultural products
- Meta-analysis of air emissions from livestock facilities
- Mitigation of air emissions from livestock production:
- Photocatalytic technology Using UV/TiO2
- Vegetative environmental buffers
- Dietary strategies
- Biofilters for odor reduction
- Co-digestion of dairy manure
- Ammonia emission model
- Modeling CO2 production of animals
Research:
- Interaction of fire, atmospheric composition and climate in the earth system
- Central role of O3 in atmospheric oxidation chemistry and climate change
- Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Animal Production
- Ammonia and Methane Emissions Expressed as Losses of Dietary Nutrients or Energy
- Improving estimation of enteric methane conversion factors for beef cattle
- Estimate contributions of prescribed rangeland burning in Kansas to ambient PM2.5 through source apportionment with Unmix receptor model
- A review of practices and technologies for odor control in swine production facilities
- Co-digestion of Dairy Manure
- Photocatalytic Technology Using UV/TiO2
- Vegetative Environmental Buffers (VEBs)
- Dietary Strategies
- Nitrogen Mass Balance and Flow
- Modeling CO2 Production of Animals
- Ammonia Emission Model
- Air Quality Model
