Animal Waste Management

CDM Africa developed and managed all CDM related documentation and components of the project .

Kanhym is the biggest pig farm in South Africa, home at any given time to more than 45,000 pigs. In addition to the piggery the farm has various other agricultural divisions including a maize farming operation and a mill where maize is milled. The farm is home to a large number of workers and dependents in two villages called Eikeboom and Thokoza. In Eikeboom there are 14 houses and in Thokoza 164. On average the occupancy in the houses is 4 people per home. The inhabitants get their electricity for free from Kanhym Farm and in turn Kanhym Farm buys the electricity from the South African grid directly from Eskom.

The pigs are confined to housed feeding lots with a sewer system that drains into a large, three-staged anaerobic lagoon with a firm crust at the top. The pigs defecate and urinate directly onto concrete floors. The concrete floors regularly washed with water that gravitates the manure into channels.  The manure in the channels gravitates into the main sewer channel terminating in the anaerobic lagoon. This currently unlined and uncovered lagoon produces a mixture of gasses including CH4 (60%), N2O (1%) and CO2 (38%), all of which are released into the atmosphere.  The proposal is to build a new lagoon upstream from the current one, line it with an impermeable membrane and seal it with an expandable membrane roof.

In Phase 1 of the project, the methane gas will be destroyed by flaring it or burning it in a boiler. The boiler will be used to maintain the temperature in the new digester at 37 degrees Celcius (°C). An enclosed flare, from a supplier that produces tried, tested and safe flaring technology will be installed. The burner technology in the boiler will be tried and tested technology ensuring safe and complete combustion. The amount of methane gas being produced will be monitored