Any farmer who plans to build a new barn knows that there is one question the authorities will certainly ask during the permit procedure: Will emissions affect humans and the environment – and to what extent? When deciding whether to grant a permit for a new poultry house, for example, authorities will pay special attention to the dust and ammonia emissions that are to be expected. In the end, they often include an exhaust air treatment system as requirement for the building permit.
This is exactly what was demanded of Bernd Blomendahl. The farmer made his family farm, situated in Neuenkirchen, Lower Saxony (Germany), future-proof by adding a new barn for broiler production. The new poultry house has approximately 37,000 bird spaces. At the beginning of the planning stage, the location was reviewed closely. The final decision from the authorities: Go ahead – but don't forget!
MagixX-B exhaust air washer for broiler production
And thus, the new broiler house was equipped with a modern exhaust air washer. Bernd Blomendahl decided to use the Big Dutchman system MagixX-B, which was developed specifically for poultry production and has already proved successful in several other houses. MagixX-B is the first exhaust air washer for poultry production which has met the requirements of the DLG Signum Test. The washer is also used successfully in layer and broiler breeder houses, in combination with a filter for preliminary dust removal. For Bernd Blomendahl, this means that he can trust on achieving reliable separation rates.
MagixX-B requires a centralised exhaust air extraction because the air in the house is sucked through the washer and cleaned during this process. The single-stage Big Dutchman washer is designed as a modular system, with a maximum of six modules per washer. In the case of the Blomendahl family's poultry house, a total of three washers was installed. For an even distribution of the dust loads, the modules alternate: At the beginning of the batch, one module is sufficient. The remaining modules are activated one after the other when the ventilation demand increases over the course of the grow-out. On warm summer days towards the end of the batch, large quantities of exhaust air must be washed, which requires all modules to run in parallel.
Exhaust air treatment with high separation rates
For poultry producer Bernd Blomendahl, this means high separation rates at low operating costs, compared to non-modular systems. Other cost-reducing factors: the modules' construction and their easy installation. Both construction and set-up are very simple, and much thought went into developing the perfect method. Maintenance is also not a problem as all modules can be accessed easily.
And this is how MagixX-B works: Each module is equipped with two filter banks and three fans which suck the exhaust air through the filter. Water flows constantly from the top to the bottom of the filter bank, washing dust and ammonia out of the air into a water basin. The banks are made of high-quality, 15 cm thin plastic parts, i.e. they are only half as thick as in comparable systems. This prevents clogging, because the entire filling material can be cleaned applying high pressure. The result is a very long service life – also thanks to the high-quality plastic material used for the filter banks.
Successful broiler production
MagixX-B is controlled individually by a system which communicates with the Big Dutchman climate computer ViperTouch. Optimum exhaust air cleaning is therefore always guaranteed. In addition to the exhaust air washer and the control system, all other poultry equipment in the house was also provided by Big Dutchman. Bernd Blomendahl first started using his new poultry house about half a year ago. Three batches later, the farmer is very happy with his decision: "An all-around success!"