CATTLE BARN WITH AIRWASHER

Abstract

A livestock shed for keeping livestock animals includes a shed building for keeping the livestock animals, having a floor which is at least partially permeable to excretory products from the livestock animals, a liquid-tight manure cellar for collecting excretory products which is situated at least partly under the floor, and an air scrubber connected to the manure cellar and configured to at least partly clean polluted manure cellar air. The air scrubber is provided directly above the manure cellar.

Claims

1. A livestock shed for keeping livestock animals, comprising a shed building for keeping the livestock animals in an animal space, having a floor at least partially permeable to excretory products from the livestock animals; a liquid-tight manure cellar for collecting excretory products situated at least partly under the floor; and an air scrubber connected to the manure cellar and configured to at least partly clean polluted manure cellar air, wherein the air scrubber is provided directly above the manure cellar.

2. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the air scrubber rests on a part of the manure cellar.

3. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the air scrubber comprises an air inlet, an air scrubbing filter, a scrubbing liquid circuit and an air outlet, and wherein the air inlet is directly connected to the manure cellar.

4. The livestock shed according to claim 3, wherein the air inlet, in projection, does not extend beyond a footprint of the manure cellar anywhere.

5. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the manure cellar, in projection, extends beyond a footprint of the shed building, wherein the air scrubber rests on said portion.

6. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the livestock shed comprises a plurality of air scrubbers, each of the plurality of air scrubbers comprising an air inlet, an air scrubbing filter, a scrubbing liquid circuit and an air outlet, wherein the scrubbing liquid circuits are connected to each other.

7. The livestock shed according to claim 6, wherein the manure cellar comprises a plurality of manure cellar compartments, each of the plurality of manure cellar compartments having a dedicated air scrubber.

8. The livestock shed according to claim 7, wherein the manure cellar compartments are separated from each other in a liquid-tight manner.

9. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the floor comprises a plurality of openings configured to allow a wet fraction of the excretory products to pass through and to retain a solid fraction.

10. The livestock shed according to claim 1, further comprising a manure removal device for removing a solid fraction of the excretory products.

11. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the air scrubber further comprises a shed air inlet directly connected to the animal space of the livestock shed in order to take in shed air.

12. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the air scrubber rests on a mixing pit of the manure cellar.

13. The livestock shed according to claim 1, wherein the livestock shed comprises a plurality of air scrubbers, each of the plurality of air scrubbers comprising an air inlet, an air scrubbing filter, a scrubbing liquid circuit and an air outlet, wherein the scrubbing liquid circuits are connected to each other in series.

14. The livestock shed according to claim 1, further comprising a manure slide for removing a solid fraction of the excretory products.

15. The livestock shed according to claim 2, wherein the air scrubber comprises an air inlet, an air scrubbing filter, a scrubbing liquid circuit and an air outlet, and wherein the air inlet is directly connected to the manure cellar.

16. The livestock shed according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the manure cellar, in projection, extends beyond a footprint of the shed building, wherein the air scrubber rests on said portion.

17. The livestock shed according to claim 3, wherein a portion of the manure cellar, in projection, extends beyond a footprint of the shed building, wherein the air scrubber rests on said portion.

18. The livestock shed according to claim 4, wherein a portion of the manure cellar, in projection, extends beyond a footprint of the shed building, wherein the air scrubber rests on said portion.

19. The livestock shed according to claim 2, wherein the livestock shed comprises a plurality of air scrubbers, each of the plurality of air scrubbers comprising an air inlet, an air scrubbing filter, a scrubbing liquid circuit and an air outlet, wherein the scrubbing liquid circuits are connected to each other.

20. The livestock shed according to claim 3, wherein the livestock shed comprises a plurality of air scrubbers, each of the plurality of air scrubbers comprising an air inlet, an air scrubbing filter, a scrubbing liquid circuit and an air outlet, wherein the scrubbing liquid circuits are connected to each other.

Description

[0020] The invention will be explained below by means of one or more exemplary embodiments and the drawing, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a cross section of a shed comprising an air scrubber, and

[0022] FIG. 2 diagrammatically shows a top view of a shed comprising a plurality of air scrubbers and a plurality of manure cellar compartments.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a livestock shed 1 for keeping livestock animals, and comprising a shed building 2 for keeping the livestock animals in an animal space, having a floor 3 which is at least partially permeable to excretory products from the livestock animals, a liquid-tight manure cellar 4 for collecting excretory products which is situated at least partly under the floor, and an air scrubber 5 connected to the manure cellar 4 and configured to at least partly clean polluted manure cellar air, wherein the air scrubber 5 is provided directly above the manure cellar 4. A mixing pit 6 forms part of the manure cellar 4 and is recessed. The illustration shows a livestock shed 1 configured as a typical free-range livestock shed for cattle with a cubicle part 7 and a slurry passage 8. The animals will relieve themselves mainly on this slurry passage 8.

[0024] The illustration shows a manure removal device 9 for removing the solid fraction (faeces 10) of the excretory products. This manure removal device 9 is designed in the form of an autonomously navigating vehicle which sucks up the faeces 10 and dumps it in a dump pit (not shown). The manure removal device 9 may also be designed as a mechanical slide which is known per se and is pulled by a chain or rope. This slides across the slurry passage 8 at set times and pushes the solid manure towards the end and into a dump pit.

[0025] The floor 3 of the shed comprises a plurality of openings 11 which are configured to allow the wet fraction of the excretory products (main component urine) to pass through and to retain the solid fraction (main component faeces). Urine passes through these openings 11 into the manure cellar 4. The faeces 10 remain behind on the floor 3. A layer of liquid forms in the manure cellar 4. The manure cellar air situated above said layer contains high concentrations of ammonia and other volatile substances, such as the damaging hydrogen sulfide, which evaporate from the liquid.

[0026] The manure cellar 4 extends, in projection, into a portion beyond a footprint of the shed building 2, in which case the air scrubber 5 rests on that portion. The walls of the manure cellar 4 including the mixing pit 6 are often made of strong concrete and form a good foundation for the air scrubber 5. The air scrubber 5 comprises an air inlet 12, an air scrubbing filter 13, scrubbing liquid circuit 14 and an air outlet 15, wherein the air inlet 12 is connected directly to the manure cellar 4. The air inlet 12 does not extend, in projection, beyond a footprint of the manure cellar 4 anywhere.

[0027] A circulation pump 16 is fitted in order to pass scrubbing liquid from the collection reservoir 17 over the air scrubbing filter 13 continuously via a spray head 18.

[0028] In operation, a strong fan 19 of the air scrubber 5 provides a negative pressure which pulls the manure cellar air through the air scrubbing filter 13 via the inlet 12. In this air scrubbing filter 13, the manure cellar air comes into contact with acidic scrubbing liquid, as a result of which harmful substances in the manure cellar air, including ammonia, are taken up in the scrubbing liquid. Dust from the animal space in the shed which passes into the manure cellar 4 through the openings 11 is also captured by the air scrubber 5.

[0029] If there occurs an unexpected leak in, for example, the air scrubbing filter 13, lines of the scrubbing liquid circuit 14 or in the collection reservoir 17, then the leaking liquid will flow into the manure cellar 4 via the air outlet 12. Here, the leaked liquid will be greatly diluted by the liquid in the manure cellar 4 and will be rendered harmless.

[0030] The air scrubber 5 furthermore comprises a shed air inlet 20 which is directly connected to the animal space of the livestock shed 1. This makes additional cleaning of the shed air using the same air scrubber 5 possible.

[0031] FIG. 2 diagrammatically shows a top view of a livestock shed 1 with a plurality of air scrubbers 5, 21, each comprising an air inlet 12, an air scrubbing filter 13, a scrubbing liquid circuit 14 and an air outlet, wherein the scrubbing liquid circuits are connected to each other in series. The flow of the scrubbing liquid is shown diagrammatically here by means of arrows. In this case, the scrubbing liquid from the collection reservoir 17 of air scrubber 5 is pumped to the spray head of air scrubber 21. The manure cellar 4 comprises a plurality of manure cellar compartments 22A, 22B, each having a dedicated air scrubber 5, 21, fitted above the respective mixing pit of each compartment 22A, 22B. The two illustrated manure cellar compartments 22A, 22B are separated from each other in a liquid-tight manner by a wall 23. When one of the two air scrubbers 5, 21 leaks, the leaked scrubbing liquid will not be able to spread across the entire manure cellar 4, but will be contained to only one compartment 22A, 22B.

[0032] Both air scrubbers 5, 21 from FIG. 2 have a common central unit 24. This central unit 24 contains various sensors (not shown) for measuring, inter alia, the pH and the conductivity and control means for replenishing or replacing the scrubbing liquid. By uncoupling the central unit 24 from the actual air scrubber 5, 21, the air scrubber 5, 21 can remain relatively small, with a limited base surface area, and can thus be fitted in its entirety above a(n existing) mixing pit 6.

[0033] Here, a floor 3 having relatively small openings 11 for allowing substantially only urine to pass through is illustrated and described. However, the invention is not limited thereto. The floor 3 may also be configured as a standard slatted floor with sufficiently large slotted openings through which urine and faeces pass and land in the manure cellar 4 together in the form of so-called slurry.