Page 18 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Mist cooling solutions for piggeries and poultry sheds
Radical foods a key item as agrifood tech event releases inaugural program
ARE we ready to start consuming meals from the lab instead of the paddock?
With scientists work- ing towards producing finless fish and chicken- less eggs, this dilemma could soon be a reality.
This is just one of the many topics that will be discussed with a number of world-class experts at evokeAG, to be held in Melbourne in February 2019.
The trailblazing, two- day event run by Agri- Futures Australia will look at the important role Australia will play in creating and trans- forming the foods and farms of tomorrow.
Under the theme of ‘Food Farm Future’, the newly released program will include master- classes, breakout ses- sions, industry speakers and support for start-ups and agrifood tech busi- nesses.
Emerging new indus- tries across the agrifood tech spectrum will also be discussed, such as the role of robotics in farming, solutions for the water crisis and why we could one day be serving up a plate of grasshoppers instead of steak as an alternative protein.
AgriFutures Australia general manager, Com- munications and Capac- ity Building Belinda Al- litt said the global event will bring together lead- ing experts to discuss just what future genera- tions will consume and how it will be produced.
“The timing of this event coincides with one
of the toughest droughts ever faced in Australia and we know that sci- ence and technology could play an important role in finding a solu- tion,” she said.
“The evokeAG pro- gram has been almost a year in the making and we can confirm it will be the most dynamic ag- rifood tech event Aus- tralia has seen.
“The sessions are thought-provoking, urgent and will ignite conversations that every single person and or- ganisation involved in agrifood tech should be having.”
Over two days, 50 guest speakers will take to the stage to discuss topics such as the popularity of nutrition, health and wellness markets, ad- vances in wine produc- tion, the role of genetics and cell biology in ag- rifoods, robotics, global venture capital invest- ments as well as insight into the buying trends of Millennials and Gen Z.
There will also be a focus on alternatives to traditional agricultural methods and why we need to evolve our farm- ing practices.
Systems such as `verti- cal farms’, where empty warehouses are used to plant crops instead of paddocks, could be- come a future source of fresh produce in urban areas.
State-of-the-art farms are already being tri- alled in the US and have been able to achieve higher yields per square metre but with 95 per- cent less water.
Another dynamic el- ement of the two-day event will be the Pitch Tent forum where both Australian and international produc- ers and start-ups will vie for a slice of the $35,000 and in-kind prize pool as they pitch their problems and ideas to national and global thought leaders.
Ms Allitt believes there is genuine in- ternational interest in what’s happening here in Australia.
“As a nation, we are a trusted producer of foods and innovations and evokeAG will serve to further enhance our knowledge to lead in this rapidly evolving sector,” Ms Allitt said.
“Whether you’re a farmer, an entrepreneur, an investor, a start-up, a technology expert, a business owner or are just passionate about what’s next for Australi- an agriculture, evokeAG is for you.”
evokeAG 2019 will take place in Melbourne at the iconic Royal Ex- hibition Building on Tuesday, February 19 and Wednesday, Febru- ary 20, 2019.
For full details of the evokeAG 2019 program including key national and international speak- ers and to take advan- tage of the 25 percent discount on early bird tickets (at $825 per per- son) available until Sun- day, November 11, visit evokeag.com
Follow us: Facebook and Twitter @evokeAG and Instagram @evoke_ ag #evokeAG
OZMIST is an Austral- ian company based in Wangaratta, northeast Victoria.
Since 1999 we have spe- cialised in the manufac- ture and supply of high- pressure mist cooling solutions.
Misting systems are ideal for cooling pigger- ies and poultry sheds and have been used for over 40 years. No area is too big, running costs are very low and installation is relative- ly quick simple as is ongo- ing maintenance.
Misting systems use the basic principle of evapo- rative cooling to reduce inside temperatures by up to 10C in a wide range of environments.
The Ozmist system comprises a high-pressure pump module, nylon dis- tribution lines and either lengths of pre-cut and ma- chined stainless steel tube or stainless steel misting rings, which are fitted to the face of high velocity fans.
The high-pressure pump module pressurises the supplied water to 1000psi producing ultra-fine drop- lets averaging 10 mi- crons in size when forced through the ultra-fine misting nozzles.
The mist ‘flash evapo- rates’ and cooling is achieved without wetness accumulating on the ani- mals, floors, equipment and people.
A typical piggery mist- ing system consists of stainless steel misting lines being run from one end of the shed to the other end.
Mist lines are made up of 1200mm lengths of stainless steel tube with a machined groove on each end.
Nozzle unions join the tubes and nozzles hand
screw into these fittings. The nozzles alternate from side to side along
the length of the tube. The tube is cabled tied to stainless steel cable or to the underside of the
roof trusses.
Misting lines are spaced
out across the width of the shed at about 6m in- tervals.
For example, an 18m- wide shed would have three mist lines.
This ensures a compre- hensive coverage of the shed without ‘hot spots’.
Mist fans are another option to provide extreme- ly good cooling in large spaces.
Stainless steel misting rings with six nozzles are cable tied to the face of high-velocity fans and connected to our high- pressure pump modules. How do Ozmist systems work?
As the temperature in- side the shed rises above 28C, the mist pump is switched on, either by a thermostat controller or in some cases the existing shed controller.
As the mist leaves the nozzle, it evaporates and absorbs the latent heat in the air, which in turn cools the hot air.
The cooler air falls to ground level, displacing the hot air.
This continuous cycle of natural convection en- sures an even spread of temperatures from the mist lines down to ground level without any mechan- ical circulation.
To avoid the risk of the humidity rising to unac- ceptable levels, the side curtains will need to be lowered on either side of the shed.
How far the curtains need to dropped differs from shed to shed but low- ering the curtains 500mm would be a good start.
The idea is to get the mist to evaporate and do its job without ‘clouding’ inside the shed.
If the mist clouds up inside the shed you will need to open the cur- tains a little more, and if it evaporates too quickly you should reduce the opening to get the most from the system.
Water filtration is criti- cal to the system’s per- formance.
Ozmist has a range of products to ensure the system operates with a minimum of fuss and dis- ruption.
Details can be found fol- lowing.
Our equipment
Ozmist manufactures and stocks the largest range of quality misting equipment in Australia.
We keep a large stock holding all year round and dispatch custom build sys- tems in under two weeks.
Following is a brief out- line of our main piggery- related products.
Pump modules
Built by Ozmist and sup- plied in a stainless steel cabinet, pump modules are available with single and three-phase motors.
We also have inverter models that have distinct advantages when operat- ing more than one shed.
Our pumps are equipped with inlet solenoid valves to control incoming wa- ter, a low-pressure switch that registers water flow and stops the pump if the flow and pressure drops outside its range, a high- pressure industrial pump featuring a cast brass head and ceramic pistons.
Coupled to a heavy-duty motor, we have what we believe to be the most reli- able pump on the market.
The internal components of the pump are machined from stainless steel and ceramic and can be rebuilt multiple times.
Modules also have twin 10” water filters fitted to the rear of the cabinet.
Five-micron and 10-mi- cron sediment cartridges are included.
Carefree Water Condi- tioner
Essential if operating on bore, dam or channel water.
The Carefree unit has proven itself beyond doubt in helping to keep misting nozzles clear of calcium and other minerals that can build up and cause blockages.
C50 Trimline Bag Fil- ters
Essential on systems us- ing dam, channel or bore water.
The C50 has a remov- able, washable filter bag.
Filtering with a C50 helps protect and add lon- gevity to the 10” cartridge filters on the back of the pump module. Thermostats/humidis- tats/timers
Digital displays and ful- ly programmable to con- trol your misting system.
The Ozmist pump mod- ule may also be controlled by an existing controller that sends a 240V signal.
Dosing Modules
To combat insects and for aerial disinfection.
Designed as an add- on to an Ozmist pump module, the Dosing Mod- ule dispenses measured amounts of water-soluble products into the water supply before the pump.
An inbuilt timer is pro- grammed to start and stop at preset intervals for pre- set periods of time.
The enclosure has all the plumbing and non-return valves plumbed into the dosing pump and the tim- er wired to a plug ready to go.
Quick Fit misting lines
These are fabricated from 304-grade stainless steel tube.
For ease of shipping and installation the tubing is supplied pre-cut with each end machined to fit inside one of the large range of Quick Fit fittings.
Tube lengths vary de- pending upon the appli- cation, though 1200mm is the accepted length of tube for animal cooling. Quick Fit fittings
These are machined from solid brass and then chrome plated.
They have an internal O ring that seals onto the tube and a grub screw that is tightened to lock into the machined groove on the end.
Nozzles
Our standard size nozzle is 0.2mm with a flow rate of 0.056 litres per minute.
If we say a pump is an Oz125ci, this indicates it is capable of running 125 x 0.2 nozzles at 70 bar or 1000psi.
We also have a 0.15mm nozzle, a 0.3mm nozzle and a 0.5mm nozzle.
The higher the number on the nozzle, the higher the flow rate.
Standard nozzles are chrome-plated brass with a stainless steel face.
We also stock full 316-grade stainless steel nozzles for corrosive en- vironments.
Mist line support
We support most of our systems on 3mm stain- less steel cable, which is then fixed to the building structure and tensioned at either end.
We then cable tie the tube to the cable and support the weight as re- quired.
If the roof trussed are low enough you can fix to the underside.
The Quick Fit stainless
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Page 18 – Australian Pork Newspaper, November 2018
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