Task

Ammonia scrubbers for manure basements

In 2021, the Dutch pig population shrank slightly to nearly 11.4 million pigs. The size of our chicken population declined to nearly 100 million and the cattle population remained almost the same at 3.8 million cattle, according to CBS Netherlands. Klaas de Boer, engineer at Special Machines de Boer, has been concerned with the nitrogen problem and treatment of manure and ammonia in livestock production for several years. By developing smart filter technology, Klaas' new air scrubber is able to recover demonstrably large amounts of liquid ammonia. The gaseous ammonia is extracted from livestock farmers' manure basements. The ammonia is then washed with a rinse water developed by Klaas de Boer himself. This keeps the installation odor-free and converts the ammonia (NH3) to ammonium (NH4): a non-toxic or intoxicated gas. Thanks to this rinse water, an E-number can be obtained for this ammonium: this is a code for a substance that is permitted within the European Union as an additive (improvement) to foods intended for human consumption.

Circular economy

With cleaning plants, it is important to pay close attention to hazardous waste. Klaas de Boer's installation does not store NH3, but only NH4 ammonium. Every installation that is linked to the manure chain is inspected by the government as being inextricably linked to the barn (i.e. livestock farm). Klaas de Boer's laundry is placed outside the barn. An additional advantage of ammonium is that it makes a direct contribution to the circular economy and further sustainability of raw materials. For example, ammonium may be used as fertilizer within the agricultural regulation without processing. Ammonium can be converted back to ammonia with post-treatment and commercially upgraded to, for example, circular household ammonia (5% per liter of water) or used as a clean fuel. This clean fuel produces no CO2 and is used worldwide for tractors (Japan), trucks and ships. Also, with post-treatment, ammonium can be used as an energy carrier of hydrogen (H). This is qualified as "green hydrogen" produced without CO2.

Solution

Clean air for animal well-being

Klaas de Boer's ammonia scrubber prevents nitrogen precipitation and the infamous slurry pit death of farmers. One can also speak of better "animal welfare" due to substantial reduction of ammonia gases in the barns. Measurements have shown that the installation contributes to healthier animals. Calves regularly cough to keep their airways open. Calves in the "clean" barn were coughing significantly less than calves in the other barns. When measuring the shoulder height of calves, the calves in the "clean" barn were found to be 10 cm higher than those in the other barns. Special Machines de Boer's plant, which has been called the ammonia blocker in trials at several livestock farms, filters about 7,500 cubic meters of air per hour. Currently a scrubber is installed at a calf farm, with which the technology has been proven in practice (proven concept). A Dutch Patent has been registered, a European version is still being worked on.

Reliable testing

During the test setup, Special Machines de Boer's plant was equipped with pH and conductivity measuring equipment from JUMO, among others. To obtain fast and reliable measurement results, the JUMO ecoLine pH electrode with high-quality UW glass was chosen. For the measurement and control of conductivity, the JUMO CTI-500 inductive conductivity measuring transducer and the JUMO AQUIS 500 controller were used. The integrated temperature measurement in the JUMO CTI-500 enables Special Machines de Boer to accurately and quickly implement temperature compensation. An additional advantage of the JUMO CTI-500 is the possibility of combined switching of measuring range and temperature coefficient. The Aquis 500 is equipped with a calibration log and timer so that the full potential of JUMO measurement technology can be utilized. The IP67 protection class makes JUMO CTI-500 and JUMO Aquis 500 ideally suited for application in air scrubbers. The Aquis 500 is equipped with a calibration log and timer so that the full potential of JUMO measurement technology can be utilized. The IP67 protection class makes JUMO CTI-500 and JUMO Aquis 500 ideally suited for application in air scrubbers.

Project result

Because of the cooperation with Special Machines de Boer, we are together contributing further the reduction of nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands. JUMO stimulates the use of green energy and the further sustainabilityof raw material use.