bpEnvironmental has formed a company to research and develop systems that provide environmentally sound commercial technologies to the agriculture and agrifood sector. The system we have developed and intend to commercialize is based on existing natural processes. These processes are contained, enhanced and accelerated to break down the effluent components, separate out the liquid, destroy the odor causing materials and compounds and digest the solids.

The initial focus of this venture was to concentrate on the development of new technologies to treat hog effluent from large scale facilities and reuse or recycle the output. This concept required processing raw diluted hog manure to level where the treated solids could be blended and packaged as a compost product for retail sales activity or sold in bulk form for land reclamation or landscaping activities. The liquid could be recycled back into the barn as deodorized, pathogen free flush water to minimize consumption. It can bez incorporated with irrigation water, thus utilizing its significant nutrient content and again reducing consumption. This process will also address several problems that are causing serious concern in the hog industry.

•The increasing negative public response and environmental concerns, regarding existing and planned large scale hog production facilities, mainly due to the obnoxious odor generated and surface and ground water contamination.

•While dealing with growing public and environmental concerns over these issues, and recognizing the seasonal challenges of applying the raw liquid manure on fields as a method of disposal, the pork industry has come under increasing scrutiny of many lobbyists and environmental activists.

Our company has designed, constructed and successfully operated a scale model system at a clients large scale pork and poultry production complex northwest of Edmonton. We achieved effective odor destruction within 24 hours and fiber, liquid, and sludge separation within 48 hours of startup. In addition, we are exploring the adaptability of our process for commercial and municipal applications and opportunities for marketing and leasing these systems and services. To date we are not aware of any other companies that have established themselves nationally to take advantage of this opportunity in this manner.

Our project development and design development activities in water treatment and effluent processing position us to take a leadership role in the development of this commercially viable venture. We plan to address the needs at existing and new pork production facilities, poultry operations, commercial and industrial applications and critical municipal sites. 

Hog Production

The pork production industry in Canada has experienced an era of rapid growth and development. Many existing operations have expanded and new facilities are in various stages of development. Municipalities are confronted with the issues related to the location of these intensive livestock operations and the public and environmental concerns that arise as a result.

The news media keeps us aware of the urgent need for an environmentally efficient and commercially viable effluent processing system for the hog industry. We believe that the expansion of the hog industry in Canada will result in the requirement for an environmentally sensitive solution to the hog manure problem. This year the livestock industry in Alberta alone generated untreated fecal effluent equivalent to a human population of approximately 46 million people.

Presently in Alberta there are about 2.7 million hogs slaughtered per year. The recent announcements related to hog slaughtering facilities in Alberta will also result in a further increase in the amount of hogs produced. Fletchers, has completed an expansion to slaughter a total of 2.8 million hogs per year and recently announced their intention to increase this to 4.2 million. There was a new plant under review near Lethbridge but it was voted down by a local plebiscite because of environmental concerns. The present pork production in Alberta is 2.2 million hogs per year with an additional 4.4 million hogs per year in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This production is expected to increase to 4 million and 8 million respectfully by the year 2000. Alberta Agricultures goal is to produce 6 million per year by 2001. They are predicting $1.5 billion in investment in the Alberta hog industry within four years.

While there are producers who want to expand, their efforts are hampered by environmental concerns regarding the raw effluent. The large volume of odorous manure that these producers generate, result in difficulties to obtain the necessary permits and approvals to expand their operations. The prime environmental and public concerns relate to the obnoxious odor that the raw effluent generates in lagoons and after spreading on fields adjacent to populated areas. In addition, ground water and surface water contamination continue to be a grave concern. Characteristically hog producers pump the hog manure and the accompanying wash-down water into a holding pit under the floor of the hog barn. After a week or two the effluent is pumped into a large outdoor lagoon. Then after a long settling period, the untreated odorous mixture is removed and spread over the farmers land. Some hog production facilities would also rent tracts of land to the spread the manure in the event that the soil on their property was unable to sustain their output.

Hog Manure

Using an estimate of 6 liters of manure per day per hog and the projected hog production of about 4 million hogs in Alberta alone by the year 2000, one can see the huge amounts of manure requiring treatment. Actual hog manure production varies by the weight of the hog. The volume depends on the process each producer uses to wash down his facility. Hog manure varies in production from 1 liter (for a wiener) to 16.8 liters per day per hog. At present, Alberta produces about 2.3 million tons of farm animal manure per year with 1 million tons of waste from hogs and beef and 1.3 million tons from chicken and dairy operations.

One of the differences in the various types of farm animal manure is the liquid to solid ratio. Hog manure has a very high liquid content compared to other manure as shown below.

While the volume of solids for cattle and chicken manure are greater than for hogs, the hog manure presents a much more involved problem because of its offensive odor and large liquid content. As a result permit applications for numerous hog production expansions have been refused by municipalities after intensive lobbying by local residents and, in numerous cases, neighboring towns.

With the anticipated growth in the industry being held back by the problem of effective effluent treatment and handling, whomever solves and commercializes an economic, viable solution will be in an excellent position to capture a substantial portion of the market share in Canada. 

Environmental Factors

Odor Emissions:

Controlling odor emissions from hog manure is a complex and difficult problem. From a study done by the Iowa State University there are more than 160 compounds that combine to form hog manures noxious odor. These compounds include ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and methane. Prolonged exposure may cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, shallow breathing, coughing, poor sleep and irritations in the eyes, nose and throat. Other than relocating the operations away from residents that the odor would disturb and offend, we are unaware of any presently available, commercially viable, solution to this problem. While many solutions have been explored for various sewage and effluent applications, none have been developed to the point where they are considered standard industry practices for hog manure. 

Water Reuse/Recycling:

With a hog population of about 2.8 million hogs in Alberta this year and an estimated growth to 6.0 million by year 2001, a huge volume of water will be required by the hog producers. At present there are approximately 2.8 million hogs that use about 8 liters per day each on average.

This suggests that a volume of 22.4 million liters per day or about 817.6 billion liters per year of water is presently used in hog operations. Most of this is converted to noxious liquid waste since hog manure is about 95% fluid.

As a result of the global concern regarding fresh water shortages and the fact that most of the economically accessible fresh water sources have been developed, concentrating on water reuse and recycling is a necessity. The ability of transforming liquid effluent into usable wash water for hog operations not only aids in odor control, it also provides for more than ample water for the most rigorous wash-down requirements.

Bacteria/Virus Control:

When run-off from rain and snow drains from fields into streams, rivers and lakes, it carries with it remnants of the raw hog manure that producers spread on open fields. This can affect the quality of our drinking water and also spread undesirable bacteria or viral contamination into other agricultural operations downstream. In the event that a holding lagoon is used, it is usually unlined and inadequately contained. It can contaminate the surrounding ground water and surface water presenting very serious problems. There have been instances where run-off water from adjacent fields caused a lagoon to overflow into a nearby stream that drains into a local river system which is the only source of potable water for towns downstream. The subsequent health hazard resulted in a huge public outcry and the formation of a Concerned Citizens Group which is very active and vocal.

Soil Impact:

At present researchers are devising sustainable application rates for raw hog manure on soil. Their concerns concentrate on overloading the land with sulfides, ammonia, organic acids, alcohol, nitrogen, potash, potassium, phosphorus and other compounds that come from swine production.

Western Canada's five to six months of freezing weather also effects the way nature breaks down this chemical soup. Application of normal fertilizers are also affected by residual manure content on the fields.

A normally uniform crop growth will become patchy and irregular in appearance and yield unless a complete field application system is incorporated. In other words spreading manure on the fields can result in a problem rather than a solution. Composting the raw manure can turn this problem into an opportunity. 

Existing and Developing Systems

At present there are some companies that are researching various systems to process hog manure. One group intends to use a thermophillic microbial fermentation process for pasteurizing hog manure before drying it into fertilizer. Another group is intending to flush the barns with large amounts of water into a holding tank where the solids will be separated and pumped out and the liquid will be pumped back through the barn. They do not have a solution for handling the solids or effectively treating the liquid. A third group is attempting to use a slightly converted snowmaking machine in the winter to spray raw liquid into the air where it turns into snow, falls to the ground and melts in the spring. This temporarily delays the original problem and does not offer a solution for handling the solids or the odor.

The system we have developed and intend to commercialize is based on existing natural processes. These processes are contained, enhanced and accelerated to break down the effluent components, separate out the liquid, destroy the odor causing materials and compounds and digest the solids.

There are four main criteria in determining the right or best process and system for any specific hog operation. They are as follows

1. Cost of construction.

2. Cost of operation.

3. Effectiveness of the process (with the process being on-line and on-site).

4. Odor control

With our system, the liquid waste is treated, filtered and recycled as wash water, while the solids are separated, treated, de-watered and can be bagged as fertilizer/compost. The main objective of this process is to enhance the hog operation by addressing the environmental concerns of the local residents and regulating authorities. This will be achieved by using proven technology that is cost efficient to construct and operate or lease. 

Conclusion

While there are numerous schemes to the process solid and liquid waste, none have been developed and proven to solve the hog manure dilemma in its entirety. Our company addresses this problem and provides a solution to the growing hog manure problem. Given the strengths and innovation of our company, we are anxious to market and establish this commercially viable solution to the hog producers nationally. We can also modify the unit into an exportable item that generates compost as a by-product and reclaims the water for reuse and recycling.

Of course, odor elimination will undoubtedly be the largest, most advertised issue. 

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