June 15, 2009, Saskatoon, Sask. – The University of Saskatchewan and
the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute are working on an odor
free solution for handling manure.
June 15, 2009, Saskatoon, Sask. – The University of Saskatchewan and the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute are working on an odor free solution for handling manure.
During a demonstration held June 12 in Saskatoon, onlookers discovered how the feedlot manure
composting equipment system works. University of Saskatchewan agricultural and bioresource engineering masters student Holly Annand loaded 76 tons of feedlot manure into 200 feet of plastic composting bag. The system, new to Saskatchewan, is designed to control composting odor and debris while also operating at a reduced cost compared to traditional wind-row composting.
PAMI, in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, and Natural Resources Canada will use the system in a solids-content anaerobic digester project. The digester will help researchers evaluate the economic feasibility of livestock operations and municipal landfills producing their own sustainable energy sources from waste organic material. The project is under construction and is expected to start producing biogas from feedlot wastes at the Western Beef Development Centre before 2010.
“I expect that introducing a composting phase will improve the cost-effectiveness of the project and
provide a premium compost product to consumers,” Annand said.
Annand is researching the potential of implementing a composting cycle into PAMI’s solids-content anaerobic digester project.
