Iowa man's invention removes odor from hog manure

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)--A central Iowa man has received a $500,000 federal grant to mass produce his invention, a machine that removes the odor from hog manure.

The Tempest dryer, developed by Loran Balvanz, of Eldora, is designed to help solve water pollution, odor and noxious gas problems in Iowa's hog industry.

Because his invention separates water from the solids in manure, Balvanz said, it can solve air and water quality problems caused by hog manure.

The Tempest removes water from manure by spinning it at a high speed. The water is vented through the top of the dryer and vaporizes in the outside air.

The process reduces the volume and weight of the manure making for easy collection of the remaining solids.

The machine was developed for Balvanz's Global Resource Recovery Organization Inc., a company he founded in 1999.

Company president, Bill Flowers said a farmer using the dryer each day could retain about 75 percent of the nutrients from hog manure. Since water is eliminated, farmers will no longer need long-term storage for liquid manure, Flowers said.

The smaller quantity of solids left over after the Tempest does its job can be stored on the farm and applied to fields as fertilizer when needed, he said.

The Iowa company will work in tandem with Farm Pilot Project Coordination Inc., a nonprofit organization set up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement manure treatment technologies, Flowers said.

The USDA grant money will pay for design and testing of the Tempest in animal feeding operations throughout North America.

If the venture makes money, the pilot project will reinvest its share of the profit into funding the commercialization of additional technologies, Flowers said.

Besides hog operations, Balvanz and Flowers eventually hope to use the Tempest in the cattle and poultry industries.

Date:1/24/06