Solar Energy

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1992 | No Comments

Energy conservation is a reason to consider solar heat for swine buildings. Money must be spent to insulate a building before solar heating can be effective. Also, check the winter ventilation rate to prevent overventilation, wasting much valuable heat. Before purchasing a solar energy system know the economics associated with this type of system. Two types of systems are used to collect solar energy for swine buildings – passive and active. Solar planning in terms of building design, collector placement, air leaks/insulation and ventilation are all outlined by the author.

Ohio Livestock Manure and Wastewater Management Guide, Bulletin 604-92

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Aspects of a complete management system are discussed for livestock production, starting with having enough land to produce feedstuffs for the animals and ending the production process with the return of the nutrients in the manure to the land for utilization. Informations are given on proper manure management plan and also on ways to operate the system to ensure the success of the livestock production facilities operations while minimizing environmental impacts. A manure management worksheet is also provided to determine annual manure application rates and land requirement for the application of the annual manure production from different livestock facilities.

Decline in spirometric variables in grain workers from start of employment: differential effect of duration of follow up

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Stress measurements on beak-trimmed and untrimmed pullets.

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On-Farm Energy Workshop

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This article considers four aspects of swine housing: insulation, ventilation, heat recovery and lighting. Increasing the insulation levels from poor to adequate will reduce fuel requirements in heated buildings. Loosefill, batts and rigid are the three commonly used types of insulation available. Ventilation or the bringing in of fresh air into the building in the right amounts and velocity and distributing it properly so that it blends and mixes thoroughly with the warm inside air is essential. Ventilation air-to-air heat exchangers are used in swine housing facilities to reduce supplemental heating cost and to preheat incoming fresh air. Factors such as: airflow rate, efficiency and initial cost of heat exchanger, plus fuel costs, size and number of pigs, and climate all influence the decision to use a heat exchanger in a swine housing facility. A switch from incandescent bulbs to replacement fluorescent U-tube units can reduce energy needed for lighting by 75%.

Land Application of Liquid Manure in an Environmentally Responsible Manner

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If properly manages liquid manure can provide an excellent source of nutrients for crops. However if handle improperly, liquid manure is a strong pollutant to air, watercourses or groundwater sources.
Adequate localized landbase determination, nutrient management plan and application rate determination are discussed. Tips on being a good neighbour through out manure application operations are also given.

Continuous aerobic treatment of piggery slurry for odour control scaled up to a farm-size unit

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Effective aerobic treatment of piggery slurry was achieved in a continuous farm scale process sited at a small piggery (2000 pigs). The plant design and the operating conditions were based on data obtained from pilot-scale studies with the aim of preventing or reducing odours from pig slurry at a minimum cost. Raw slurry was separated before passing into the main treatment vessel. Aeration was achieved by recirculating of slurry (achieving jet mixing of the tank contents) through a venturi where air was entrained. Aeration was controlled to maintain redox potential between 100 and 200 mV Eh. Slurry was added and withdrawn at hourly intervals, to provide nominal residence times of 1, 2 and 4 days.
The performance of the aerobic treatment process in terms of COD reduction could be predicted using data from laboratory and pilot-scale experiments. Some allowance could be made for minor feed fluctuations but a more comprehensive model will be necessary for predictions where larger variations occur in operating conditions. Assessments were made of odour quality using dynamic dilution olfactometers for odour strength, and volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration as an indicator of odour offensiveness. Results indicate that pilot-scale experiments may overestimate by 10a

Ventilation Fan and Inlet Performance in Realistic Swine Facilities

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The air delivery performance and energy efficiency of a number of commercially available ventilation fans have been measured with a fan test chamber. The air distribution and air velocity profile of the most common swine facility ventilation inlet (continuous slot with adjustable baffle) has also been measured. This information will enable swine producers and building designers to select ventilation systems based on documented performance under realistic operating conditions. Since the availability of this information will allow customers to make informed decisions when purchasing ventilation equipment, it will also encourage the ventilation equipment industry to develop design improvements in order to stay competitive.

Alteration of Nutrition as a Mean to Reduce Environmental Pollution by Pigs

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The introduction of an extra feed (phase feeding) during the production cycle leads to 2 to 10% reduction of P and N excretion in the manure. With the use of microbial phytase, the digestibility of P can be improved by 20% or more resulting in less or no P supplementation for growing and pregnant sows and a reduction of P excretion from 20 to 30%. The excretion of N can be lowered by 20% by the incorporation of synthetic amino acids and lowering the crude protein level in the diet by 2%. Most of those options leads to an increase in the price of the mixed feed. More constraints may come later for copper, zinc and potassium.

This article is very complete and thorough with the implication of the pig nutrition and environmental pollution.

A review of the control of odour nuisance from livestock buildings: Part 3, properties of the odorous substances which have been identified in livestock wastes or in the air around them

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The literature on the odorous compounds identified in livestock wastes or in the air around them has been reviewed, and the resulting information on the properties of these compounds is presented in a series of tables. The total number of compounds which have been identified is 168, of which 30 have odour detection thresholds lower than or equal to 0A