Energy recovery from air scrubbing in Belgium
In this third part of my series, I will share the possibilities air scrubbing offers in terms of energy recovery, air optimisation and improvements to animal performance. Inno+ offers several systems that can turn your air scrubber into a sustainable business opportunity. By adopting these concepts, Belgium farmers can create multiple financial benefits from their investment, at the same time reducing their carbon footprint.
Energy recovery from Air scrubbing – a return on investment
To many Farmers, air scrubbing is considered an uncomfortable cost. However, this does not have to be the case. 15 years ago, we looked at the possibility to use our system as an energy source. The idea being, those animals in the house generate a lot of heat that escapes through the exhaust in the ventilation air. Therefore, what if we could capture this heat and reuse it.
As the warm air passes through the scrubber, the heat is transferred to the wash water where it circulates around the system. Our idea was to take this thermal energy and transfer it across a heat exchanger, converting the energy from dirty to clean water that could be transported for reuse. We therefore developed Triple EEE.
The system allows us to heat the incoming air from -10 ° C to + 8 ° C, which results in a significant saving in energy cost during cold periods. Because the air is treated before entering the animal room, it also means the farmer can be more flexible with the ventilation. The in house air can be better-conditioned meaning relative humidity, CO2, ammonia levels and other harmful substances can be reduced. It is generally accepted among vets that an optimum house climate has clear advantages:
- Healthier lungs
- Fewer germs
- Better intestinal health
- Less ear and tail biting.
Which all adds up to better animal performance in terms of growth and feed conversion.
Energy transfer Triple EEE
The energy transfer can happen in one of two steps depending on need. Fist we transfer the thermal energy using the Triple EEE system where the low latency transfer is high, a COP 50. Meaning 1kW of electricity is used to transfer 50kW of thermal energy. This energy is then used to pre-condition the incoming air, bridging a gap of up to 20°C.
Gas reduction
The primary benefit is that Belgium farmers will reduce gas significantly. An installed Triple-EEE system will reduce gas consumption by 65% throughout the year. Your heating system now only has to bring the temperature from +10°C to the desired stable temperature.
Heat pump
We can then also run a heat pump of the back flow of this system, where we can achieve higher temperatures of up to 45 °C to bridge a further gap to 30°C. Of course, a heat pump is not as efficient with a COP of 4, but still far more cost efficient than tradition sources of energy such as natural gas. The other advantage being a significant drop in CO2 production and therefore reduced carbon footprint.
A diagram to show the transfer of energy from the air scrubber wash water, across the triple EEE plate exchanger to the inlets, conditioning the air from -10 degrees to +10 degrees.
From our many case studies, we see improvement of:
- Gas reduction of 56%
- Feed conversion 4-10%
- Mortality 1.5%
- Finisher growth +100gms/day
Subsidy in Belgium
From what we hear, the subsidies in Flanders for sustainable systems like this are 40% over the investment that must be made to make it work. That benefits the return on investment significantly.
Pig farms – Return on investment for a typical Belgium farmer
The return on investment from an Air-Scrubber energy recovery system varies depending on the production. However, for a typical Pig farm we see around 4-5 years. This figure is calculated on energy saving from the system and improved production.
Return on investment – Pig farm
- Total Investment (Air scrubber, Triple EEE, Heat pump) = €116,535
- Savings from energy recovery — € 13,528 per year
- Savings from production — € 16,916 per year
Total savings per year = € 30,444 per year
Return on investment: 3,83 years
Optimize your business
If you would like to schedule a no-obligation appointment to see what is possible to optimize your business. Please contact:
Pieter Hanssen
Phone Number: +31 6 10 49 96 79
Email: Pieter Hanssen phanssen@inno-plussystems.com
Or complete the form below…
