Developing Strategies for Water Conservation for Producers
Water use can increase the overall production cost of swine operations through wastage and increase in manure slurry volume. Using water more efficiently can be beneficial both economically and environmentally. Water wastage was reduced by 60% when a trough with side panel and constant water...
Evaluation of Methods for Controlling and Monitoring Occupational Exposure of Workers in Swine Facilities
Reduction of personal exposure to air contaminant levels including ammonia and dust in swine production facilities is possible through containment control studies but must be studied under swine barn conditions too. Selected management and engineering measures were studied, such as high level of cleaning, oil...
Effectiveness of Various Methods of Deploying Nanoparticles to Reduce Odour and Gas Emissions from Swine Manure
Unique quantum properties are exhibited in nanoparticles as they have at least one dimension in the 1-100 nanometer scale. Nanoparticles have been of use for environmental pollutant treatment and remediation. They are non-toxic and benign environmentally while flexible in deployment and highly reactive due to...
Evaluating Energy Usage and Various Energy Conservation Strategies for Swine Barns
Substantial energy input is needed in temperate regions for swine production. As energy prices increase, so do the costs, with the third largest variable for swine production being utilities. Energy conservation measures were examined by looking at current energy usage in order to improve the...
Evaluation of a Treatment Method to Control Hydrogen Sulphide Emission from Swine Manure
The oil industry developed a treatment approach that was modified to be used for the swine industry. This approach involves nitrate or molybdate to control swine manures' emission of hydrogen sulphide. Previous research was on closed systems where the levels of hydrogen sulphide in the...
Use of Nanoparticles to Control Gaseous Emissions from Swine Manure Slurry
Nanoparticles have unique properties due to nanoscale dimension and are highly reactive powder materials. Nanotechnology may allow odour and gas emission control from swine operations. Impact on ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and gas mixture from swine slurry by commercially available nanoparticles was examined. A...
Benchmarking Energy Costs in Swine Barns
Energy intensive tasks are involved in swine production. As prices for energy increase along with greenhouse gas concerns, reducing energy use is crucial to reduce cost. Benchmark information was gathered to conduct energy audits documenting energy use in order to evaluate possible energy-saving measures for...
Application of a Biological Treatment Approach to Control Gaseous Emissions from Swine Operations
High levels of gases including hydrogen sulphide may be exposed to swine barn workers during in-barn manure handling tasks which may be dangerous to their health. Oilfields developed a biological treatment that may be able to adapt to the swine industry. Two mechanisms are used,...
Large Group Auto-Sort: Potential and Problems
Large Group Auto Sort (LGAS) applies electronic technology to manage grow-finish pigs and is relatively new. It can be cost effective to assemble many animals into a pen by using similar weights derived from electronic sorting scales and sorting gates. Due to mixed reviews, more...
Belt Conveyor Manure Separation System: Impact on Odour and Gas Emissions
Handling large volumes of manure from livestock operations led to environmental concerns, so innovative strategies are being explored to manage manure in an environmental and economical manner. A tilted belt conveyor (BC) was examined to replace the slatted portion of the pen to separate feces...