New Generation Aerators Reduce Odor Fast

New Generation Aerators Reduce Odor Fast MANURE HANDLING Equipment 21-5-29 A new generation of lagoon aerator introduces tiny air bubbles throughout an entire lagoon versus treating only a few inches of the surface. Smaller bubbles offer a big improvement over surface and paddle-style aerators because bubbles stay in solution longer to accelerate aerobic action and help break up solids, say manufacturers. One of the new systems is the Hydro-Sparger from Blue Diamond Water Treatment Co. of Two Rivers, Wis. Custom-built for any lagoon or pit, the Hydro Sparger consists of a 7 1/2 hp pump with strainer, an injector manifold made out of PVC pipe and a distribution grid. Waste-water is drawn into the system by the pump and driven through the injector manifold where 0.5 to 5 micron dia. air bubbles are injected into the water, then discharged through a perforated distribution grid at the bottom of the lagoon. The system was evaluated at Iowa State University where it was shown to produce 4 to 5 times as much aeration as conventional rotor-type aerators. At ValAdCo., a 10,000-sow cooperative near Renville, Minn., Hydro Sparger systems were installed in two 3 million gal. lagoons, says Blue Diamond's Floyd Wiltgen. Odor was completely eliminated in a couple days, he says. A system for a 3 million gal. lagoon typically runs about $12,000; $20,000 for 6 million gal. Operating costs are 2 to 6 cents per hog produced. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Blue Diamond Water Treatment Co., 6710 Sandy Bay Road, Two Rivers, Wis., 54241 (ph/fax 414 794-7248). Another new-style aeration system is the Aerob-A-Jet from Sewage Aeration Systems of Lockridge, Iowa. It consists of an electric motor, shaft, air tube and propeller that floats on a raft in the middle of the lagoon. The air tube extends about 1 ft. down into the lagoon and introduces bubbles .025 mm. in dia. The system is currently being tested by North Carolina State University's Animal & Poultry Waste Management Center (APWMC), the company says. In a test by a well-known hog producer, it eliminated odor in a 270 ft. sq. lagoon servicing a 3,000-sow operation within a week at a cost of 1/2 cent per hog per day, says the company's Bob Blough, who notes that the main objective of the system is to speed up aerobic activity. "Elimination of odor is a by-product of that process." Available in seven models using electric motors from 1/16 to 3 hp and 2 to 12-in. dia. air tubes that handle from 600 to 65,000 gals. per day, respectively. They start at about $900. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Sewage Aeration Systems, 103 North Broadway, P.O. Box 117, Lockridge, Iowa 52635 (ph 319 696-3500; fax 3555).

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