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Epizym Ltd
85 High Street
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
United Kingdom
TN1 1XP
T. +44 (0) 1892 506 950
F. +44 (0) 1892 506 951
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PRESS RELEASE | 6th December 2006The deadline for IPPC permit applications is drawing closer, with farmers advised to apply no later than January 15th to ensure they can be 'checked and cleared' by the 31st.
One aspect of the regulation is odour control. Measures must be taken to prevent or minimise odour emissions so that 'sensitive receptors' - people in houses, hospitals and schools close by - are not affected by the smell. Some farms will have to prepare an odour management plan, which once written up, must then be adhered to (they will be spot checking).
How farmers manage their slurry systems to prevent or minimise emissions is being looked at closely. Regulations abound for new slurry systems, such as minimum tank storage capacity recommended at four months production (including rainwater) and tanks must henceforth be covered.
However, existing storage systems, without covers, haven't escaped the regulator's eye. New rules include minimising the stirring of slurry, as this increases the release of odour into the air, even though it's recognised that slurry needs to be mixed in order to spread it on the land.
While composting and slurry separation are options for complying with the new IPPC rules, both can prove time consuming and expensive. Another route is to use a slurry additive. These products liquefy and deodorise slurry at the same time, significantly reducing odour and making slurry more manageable and valuable by boosting its fertiliser value.
One such product, Epizym Pigs, has been proved to reduce gross odour emissions by 53% and by 55% per kg pig liveweight. The Silsoe Research Institute ran the odour assessment trial in their dynamic Olfactometer unit, using pig slurry taken from a trial run at the ADAS Climate House. "The results were superb - proof that odour levels can be halved. This product can really help pig farmers meet their IPPC odour levels quickly and simply", says principal agricultural consultant for Epizym Giles Dadd.
Through its controlled micro biological and enzymatic activity, Epizym reduces odour formation through removing the floor solids where odours are formed and stored and also by acting on odours generated. It is totally different from conventional odour suppressing chemicals in that it functions directly on the source of the odour by enzymatically changing the molecular structure of the odour-causing compounds. Indole and skatole, two of the most potent, penetrating odourisers found in animal waste, are enzymatically reduced to odourless compounds through bio-oxidation with Epizym. Organic amines, which produce some of the most offensive odours, are totally destroyed in the process.
John Gray, who farms 18,000 pigs per year on an island off Essex, has been using the slurry additive since 1996. "I installed slatted accommodation and very soon the neighbours complained about the smell. I saw an advert in Pig World and called up to get some advice. I'd never go back to not using it." The smell on John's farm cleared up within six weeks and complaints became a thing of the past. And his wife was a lot happier too.
"The reduction in odour was the main thing for me, but the crust reduction and the saving of £6,000 I make annually on bagged nitrogen came as a bonus. IPPC has given me plenty to think about in terms of storage systems, but I've much less concern on the odour front."
For more information on odour reduction and slurry management, contact Epizym on 0800 083 0614. |
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