FACTS

Satisfying Public Interest

 

Due to urban sprawl, there are many disgruntled neighbors to hog operations in rural America . The development of concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO's) has exacerbated this situation by simultaneously concentrating the animal waste. With the applied science becoming known as a beneficial application for odor control and the reduction of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide more producers will learn of this technological approach, more will buy this technology ( voluntarily or via imposition), and eventually more rural American will not have to smell hog manure involuntarily. This should count as enhanced quality of life. In the process, natural resources and the environment will be better protected as lagoons disappear from the landscape, especially in the south-east where lagoon may flood over during hurricane season. Environmental advantage may also occur from the resulting manure by-product. The early analysis indicates a higher percentage of the nitrogen immediately available to the plant and the lower phosphorous concentrations. Consequently farmers can control the uncertainties associated with build-ups of long term nitrogen sources. The lower phosphorous concentration helps avoid eutrophiation. The manure from the pit may be viewed as a value added non-food product. Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Juergens Environmental Control System is the increased pork production due to healthy hogs making market weight earlier and more uniformity with less morbidity and mortality. This could be viewed as value added food production.

Potential Post Application

Commercialization Potential

Over 96.4 million hogs were produced in the United States in 2002 with nearly one billion hogs produced worldwide. The 40 largest pork producers in the United States produce an estimated 42.5 million hogs per year. Using an average 3,000 head of finished animals per unit (barn) about 32,000 barns could benefit from Juergens Environmental Control Systems. The research results could convince farmers to purchase the system due to higher profits from increased pork production and fertilizer value. Installation and maintenance of the system can make Juergens Environmental Control a commercial success.

Use by Federal Government

The research could also be used to set the standards for Best Management Practices regarding waste management required by the Federal Government. As more farms experience the results of increased performance and the reduction of odor that has plagued communities, this technology could be adopted as an efficient and effective odor control for the environment and swine production.

Company Information

Juergens Environmental Control is structured to manufacture (or to have manufactured) the technologies developed and approved by Juergens Environmental Control. The immediate goal is to establish a factory for the production and installation of equipment used in systems to reduce the odors associated with hog wastes, while also significantly reducing the dust levels in pigs' environments. The systems include the patented Liquid Lid Seal and the Injection System for the Buffering System as well as an Atomization System (including the Atomization solutions). A patent has been granted for the “Atomization System for Odor and Environmental Control in Livestock Holding Areas”. Building a new facility will create new jobs as it expands helping the communities in the Carroll, Iowa area.

All patents are owned by Juergens Environmental Control a company established in Carroll , Iowa , which generates, validates and manages a variety of technological concepts in conjunction with a research team from Valparaiso University and pursues patents for these inventions as appropriate. Several patents have been issued.

Similar waste treatment processes are under development but have not yet been introduced to the marketplace. Quantitative data are currently being studied with an eye toward other potential markets. These applications address the treatment of odors generated by domestic animals such as poultry, horses, cattle, sheep, zoo animals, and other livestock that generate ammonia gas by fecal matter and urine. The treatment methods have been filed with the US Patent office and are secured by the Utility Patent.

Competitive Advantages

A number of approaches have been advanced to address the hog odor problem, but none have been totally satisfactory, often creating other hazards in the process and difficult to manage. As noted above, thirty-five manure additives were evaluated in 1999-2000 in research projects funded by the then National Pork Producers Council. The results were that 20% reduced hydrogen sulfide emissions by 23% to 47%, 20% reduced ammonia emissions by 3% to 15% and NONE reduced odor at the 95% confidence level (Tengman, 2002 and Heber, 2004). The Neutralizer system has been shown to neutralize the fatty acids in hag waste pits and shift the acidity of the waste to promote anaerobic bacterial decomposition of the waste. The principal byproducts are than odorless gasses, carbon dioxide and methane. The result is a healthier environment; mortality and morbidity go down and hog production actually goes up so that the system effectively pays for itself within a few years. We know of no other method of reducing hog production odors that can demonstrate this increase in profitability for the hog producers.

The following information is being provided to help better understand the two processes that have been commercialized for the control of Hog House Odors as well as for Deep Pit Treatment applications:

There are two different types of bacteria at work within the finishing facilities. Aerobic bacteria which are supported by air and the effluent that they feed upon, as well as the anaerobic bacteria that live just below the surface of the swine waste and clear to the bottom, as they can strive only in an air free environment.

The aerobic bacteria attack the fecal matter, and urine that is on the floor and on the livestock themselves. With the aerobic bacteria generating ammonia gas, aldehyde, amines, and esters, these gasses are also conveyed outside and into the environment. In the build-up of manure that becomes dry and before it can be pushed through the slats, dust is also created by the air moving through the barn and the particulate matter becoming known.

The Atomization process is formulated to react to the ammonia and other associated odor by using a special formula that will neutralize the ammonia, and attract the dust molecules to the corn oil that is used in the formulation. With the particulate size provided by the mist being smaller than the dust particles, a static charge is generated by the high pressure at the nozzle tip and friction created between the liquids making up the solution. Once the dust comes into contact with the atomized particle it becomes heavier than air and settles to the lower regions for the final resting place.

In the stored waste materials, the addition of the Neutralizer is to react to the acids that are produced by the bacteria and not to destroy the bacteria, but to clean up behind in the by-products they produce. These are known as the short chained fatty acids. By using a base buffer and formulated to the strength of its charge the pH values of the manure is adjusted upward on the pH scale to be more neutral than basic. In the neutralizing of the short chain fatty acids the bacteria actually have a cleaner environment in which to grow and significantly impact the oxidation reduction potential giving it more negative readings which is good for the anaerobic environment. With the improvement on the colonies of bacteria that now can survive and reproduce at a faster rate more waste is being consumed and converted to a more usable fertilizer for land applications and does not carry with it the smell that is normally associated to the spreading of hog manure.