Biofilter Demonstration

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1999 | No Comments

The objective of this report is to demonstrate the effectiveness of biofilters to reduce odour, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia emissions from livestock facilities and manure storages using low cost biofilters with different designs, media, operating conditions and management.
The performance of twelve biofilters with different residence times (approximately 4,7 and 13 s) was measured on a dairy, swine and poultry facility. Residence times are defined as the time the air is in contact with the biofilter media.
Odour and hydrogen sulfide reduction improved from 56% to 94% as residence times increased from 4 to 7 s for the dairy and swine. Percent reduction remained about 89% as residence time increased from 7 to 13 s on the dairy and swine. A 5 s residence time is recommended for designing biofilters on swine and dairy facilities to achieve more than 80% reduction in emissions. The biofilter on the poultry facility was installed without a dust filter and dust on the fans prevented accurate airflow measurement. Reductions were less than 40% on the poultry biofilter.

Feasibility Study on the Rapid Compositional Analysis of Hog Manure by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

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This study added a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) dimension to a concurrent study on long-term effects of hog manure on soil quality and productivity. It expands knowledge of the applicability of NIRS for the rapid analysis of hog manure. It complements an earlier MLMMI-supported study (98-01-15) in three ways. First, it repeated exploration of the feasibility of developing useful NIR calibrations for nutrients, N, P, and K in hog manure. Secondly, it expanded the sources of variability in the sample set from 7 to 25 hog manure ponds. Thirdly, it greatly expanded the constituents examined from physical parameters, nutrients and salts to include 27 metals and minor elements. The 75 samples in this study were analyzed by Norwest Lab for % moisture, electrical conductivity, nitrate-N, N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Cl, and a suite of trace elements Because the samples were stored for several months before being scanned by NIRS, they were re-analyzed in the Freshwater Institute Analytical Laboratory for NH4-N, total dissolved N, suspended N, total dissolved P, soluble reactive P, suspended P, and suspended C. Samples were scanned using a Foss NIRSystems Inc. Model 6500 visible and near-infrared scanning spectrophotometer from 400 to 2500 nm using Near-infrared Spectroscopic Analysis Software (NSAS). Samples were scanned in a watertight cell with a path length of 2 mm in the transflectance mode. The cell was scanned in a static mode and in a spinning cup module. Calibrations were developed between the spectral data and the chemical data for each constituent using the multiple linear regression option of the NSAS software and evaluated statistically. Useful calibrations were developed for NH4-N, TDN, Suspended N, Total N, TDP, SRP, Suspended P, Total P, Suspended C, Ca, Mg, Ba, Be, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, Sr, S, Ti, V, and Zn. Useful results were not obtained for Na, K, Cl, Al, As, B, and Li. Analysis of the constituent and spectral data by Principal Component Analysis demonstrated this may be a useful tool for sample selection for the development of future robust calibrations for field use.

Composting of sweet sorghum bagasse with other wastes

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Effectiveness of 3 Manure Pit Additives Document

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The DE content of hull-less barley

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Hull-less barley is used as a source of energy and amino acids in swine rations in Western Canada but is characterized poorly in terms of DE content. Our objective was to determine the DE content of cleaned hull-less barley in relation to barley, wheat, and triticale. Chemical characteristics were analyzed to enable subsequent calculation of prediction equations. The DE content of cleaned hull-less barley was equal to that of wheat. We were able to predict the DE content of hull-less barley accurately by using starch, neutral-detergent insoluble nitrogen (NDIN) and neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) analyses.

The influence of different feeding arrangements and food type on competition at feeding in pregnant sows.

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This study looked at aggression in sows when feeding and how it was influenced by the size of partitions and type of food, wet or dry. Six groups of six sows were each put through various combinations of feeder partitions and wet and dry food. Also each sow in groups of sows were ranked 1 to 6 depending on dominance over the other sows in the group. Sows were each given a week to get used to the feeding set up and then were held for 9 days in each system. At 9:00am each sow was fed 2.5kgs of either dry or wet feed ( 1:6 water to feed ratio). The sows were video taped for an hour, fifteen minutes of feeding and then for 45 minutes afterwards. The video tapes were viewed and researchers took note of times sows bit each other and where they were bit ( head, shoulder, vulva). Also it was noted when pigs left the feeder voluntarily or if they were forced to leave by another sow. The results of the compiled data showed that full length body partitions were the most effective in reducing aggression and biting to the head and shoulders, but full body partitions saw increased biting of the vulva. Wet feed reduced aggression compared to dry feed, possibly because portions were larger and sows were full and didn’t have reason to fight, or because all the sows finished eating at the same time there was less competition for feed. The most aggression was found in the fifteen minutes of feeding, aggression was reduced significantly in the 45 minutes following the feeding period. It was found that sows ranked in the 3rd and 4th spot of dominance suffered the most bites and aggression from other sows. Pigs who were ranked 5th and 6th were bitten less but this can be explained because they spent less time at the feeder. Full body partitions were the most effective but lock ins at the back of the stall could be incorporated to reduce vulva biting. Shoulder length partitions along with wet feed were found to be as effective in reducing aggression as full body partitions.

To see this complete article please go to: http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/applan/home

Domestic turkeys are not averse to compact fluorescent lighting.

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Adaptation to tethering in yearling dairy heifers assessed by the used of lying down behaviour.

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The lying down behaviour of 48 dairy heifers was studied while they were tethered for different lengths of time. Heifers were tethered in stalls with concrete flooring either for the entire experimental period (which lasted 24 days), or the last 10 days or the last 3 days of the experiment. In the control treatment, heifers were housed straw-bedded pens. Behavioural observations were recorded for 24 hours at the end of the experiment. Heifers that were tethered for 3 days had longer latencies to lie down, they lied down less and took longer to lie down. The number of lying down interruptions was higher for heifers tethered for 3 and 10 days compared to the control treatment. The heifers tethered for 24 days were in between (did not differ from the control or 3 and 10 day treatments). The results indicate that initial tethering causes the most problems in lying down behaviour for heifers. The results do not indicate that complete adaptation occurs (at least not during the 24 days of this study).

Environmental Control Strategies for Swine Buildings in Cold-Climates

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Threonine Requirements of the High-Producing Lactating Sow

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