EnergARA

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Pig farming results in emissions of ammonia, dust and odour, which can affect both local residents and nearby ecosystems. The use of exhaust air purification systems serves to capture and reduce these emissions. In some federal states, the use of these systems is required in the individual farm approval procedures. Keeping pigs in closed barns requires energy, for example to operate the ventilation system or to adjust the room temperature to the animals' requirements. The task of the ventilation system is to remove polluted air from the barn and replace it with fresh air. The use of heat recovery systems makes it possible to transfer energy from the warm exhaust air flow to the incoming cold fresh air flow and thus reduce the heating requirement in the barn.

In the "EnergARA" research project, three specific barn systems that use an exhaust air purification system in combination with heat recovery are to be investigated over longer periods of time. The electricity consumption of the individual systems as well as the air and water temperatures at different positions within the stable building will be recorded in order to determine the efficiency and performance of the heat transfer. The evaluation of the collected data should lead to an economic, ecological and animal welfare-based assessment of the individual systems and their combined use. Possible synergy effects are to be identified in order to answer the question of how far exhaust air purification systems can be used as regenerative energy sources for heating and cooling pig houses. Ultimately, the "EnergARA" research project should contribute to improving energy and resource efficiency in modern pig farming.