A JOINT research project is being run by the WA Pig Producers Association to push the commercialisation of pig pond covers that will potentially harness methane for energy production.
They may be considered to be conservative by nature, but pig farmers across Western Australia are becoming more involved in bio-energy and waste management systems to lessen the environmental impact of methane and other pig waste.
A cover placed over effluent ponds to trap methane and funnel it to a flare or convert it back to grid-energy is currently being trialled at the Medina Research Station south of Perth.
Traditionally effluent ponds have been the last-stop dumping ground for pig waste and can emit up to 70 per cent of the total methane produced by pig farms.
The pond cover technology aims to trap the methane and burn it off, lowering the greenhouse impact of the methane.
Research is also being conducted in to whether it is commercially viable for the methane to be funnelled back in to the electricity grid as bio-energy.
The Medina project is being funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and is being managed by the WA Pig Producers Association at the Department of Agriculture and Food’s research station.
DAFWA senior technical officer Hugh Payne said the technology had been brought to WA from New Zealand and was being tested at the Medina research station to ensure it would be commercially viable for small to medium pig farmers in WA.
“In New Zealand I saw a 400-sow piggery that was reusing the gas which had basically paid for the cover in four years,” Mr Payne said.
“It was of particular benefit in New Zealand to growers in high population density areas to control odour. The cover was also being used in the dairy and abattoir industries.”
WAPPA’s executive officer Russell Cox said testing the technology and moving it towards commercialisation was important to make its use locally appropriate.
“It is important to evaluate new technology like this to ensure that it is suitable in WA conditions and can add value to the industry,” Mr Cox said.
Mr Payne said while a custom built pond cover was being tested in this instance, covers could be retrofitted, broadening the potential for the technology for use in pre-existing effluent ponds.
