Development of a Novel Manure Collection System for a Largeroom Swine Facility and an Anaerobic Dige

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Development of a Novel Manure Collection System
for a Large-room Swine Facility and an Anaerobic
Digester

• 2005 Animal Waste Management Symposium
• October 7, 2005
• Robb Meinen, Ken Kephart, Bob Graves
• Penn State University

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Crone Farm - Background

• 2 buildings
• Each with a holding capacity of 2,180 finishing
  hogs
• Populated for the first time Fall 2002

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Large-pen Finishers
Pen 1
Pen 2
Food Court
Food Court
Food Court
Food Court
Pen 3
Pen 4
Each building has 4 large pens
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New finishing system new digester ideas

• The new one-room self-sorting type swine
  finishing building is being used.

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Some advantages of this type of building

• All manure storage is under the building
• Less odor from storage
• Lower capital costs and maintenance of penning
• Less social contention
• Feed formulation based on weight
• Lower labor costs/time savings
• Sorting premiums optimize income

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Habits in the large room

• Food court causes patterned pig movement
• Hogs like to lie along the walls of the large
  room

Empty food court
Hogs rest along walls
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Dunging Pattern

• A dunging pattern emerges in large pens and a
  majority of manure is deposited in the central
  corridor of the large pens, where it falls into
  deep manure pit storage below the slatted floor.

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Hogs in the large-pen sorting rooms are creatures
of habit
Can this dunging pattern be used to
make anaerobic digestion at a swine finisher more
economic?
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Crone Manure Pits - Reconfigured
1,100 pigs
1,100 pigs
3 m
3 m
6 m
6 m
6 m
Raw Manure
Digested Manure
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Under floor pit schematic
To digester
From digester
Raw Manure
Digested Manure
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Manure deposition in reconfigured deep pits has
been measured

• 78 of raw manure is deposited into collection
  pits

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Crone Digester no construction of
post-digestion storage
Digester
Post-digested manure to be stored under the
building
Land Application
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Schematic site layout
Manure flow to digester
Manure flow from digester
2 finisher buildings 4,400 total head
Digester
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The digester today
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Lessons Learned

• Solids accumulation
• Inadequate agitation
• Power grid delays
• PA Alternative Energy Portfolio sets guidelines
  for future energy production
• Steady State operation took longer to reach than
  anticipated due to needed design modifications

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Swine living area concerns

• Reintroducing digested manure beneath the slatted
  floors of the hog houses causes air quality,
  welfare and production concerns.
• Preliminary monitoring of air quality indicates
  that gas levels in the barn are not elevated with
  the introduction of post-digested manure.
• Levels of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and methane
  are being measured in the finishing barns.

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Penn State research

• Measure animal housing levels of
• NH3
• CH4
• H2S
• Monitor biogas production, electric production,
  and engine efficiencies
• Economic analysis

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Funding outside sources needed

• PDA 75,000
• DEP 10,000
• PA Pork Council 5,000
• Sustainable Energy Fund 15,000
• Wenger Feeds 30,000
• 135,000

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Digestion Project at Crone FarmSummary

• Public funds necessary.
• New manure flow pattern may make digestion more
  feasible.
• 78 raw manure to collection pits.
• Original justification is not on electric
  sell-back, but on cost savings.
• Utility contracts are difficult to attain.
• Animal housing air concerns merit monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

• Ken Kephart
• Bob Graves
• Stanley and Rich Crone, Pine Hurst Acres Farm
• Paul Schick/Schick Enterprises

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Questions?
Robb Meinen (814) 865 2987 rjm134_at_psu.edu