Farmscape for August 3, 2006  (Episode 2211)

The University of Manitoba has kicked of a three year project aimed at developing monitoring systems that will allow for improved control of emissions from straw fired industrial heating systems.

Five years ago Vidir Machine replaced the coal fired heating system at its Arborg manufacturing plant with a wheat straw fueled heating system and the company is installing a similar unit at its manufacturing plant at Morris.

The greenhouse gas displacement system, developed by Vidir Biomass Systems, uses large straw bales as fuel and relies on primary combustion followed by secondary combustion to get a complete burn.

As part of a three year 620 thousand dollar project, researchers will be developing analysis tools and software designed to monitor and regulate emissions from the unit.

Vidir Biomass president Raymond Dueck says the intent is to create a system that will ensure emissions remain within acceptable limits.

Clip-Raymond Dueck-Vidir Biomass Systems

We want to make sure that it meets every emission standard.

We're integrating a computer system to control the flow of the hot gases, the combustion gasses, through the system and to make sure that, even when there is some high moisture feed coming into it, that it will burn that straw and still meet emission standards.

We've done emission testing and the emissions testings in the past have shown that our emissions are very well within limits set by the province and so we're not overly concerned with that but we do need to get either CSA or some other organization to put their stamp of approval on the whole system.

That's part and parcel of what we're trying to do here.

We're trying to make sure that we're operating under all conditions with minimum emissions so we will have continuous monitoring of emissions on this system.

Dueck says, while the research project is scheduled to run for three years, he hopes the work can be completed in one year.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council