Ontario invests in dead stock gasification plant Wednesday, June 15, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFThe Ontario government, through its rural economic development program, is investing $3,652,809 into a $10 million gasification system to render and recycle dead stock.Atwood Pet Food Supplies Limited serves Ontario from Highway 400 west. They currently render 50 to 60 tonnes of beef dead stock per day but, after water and tallow is separated, the meat and bone meal has to be trucked to a landfill in Ottawa. The gasification system, expected to be operational by January 2013, will allow them to render 100 tonnes worth of dead stock per day. They will separate the tallow and water and they will gasify the rest of the carcass leaving nothing but an ash residue. In the process, they expect to create enough gas to replace the natural gas they use now.“Natural gas is 75 per cent of the cost of rendering,” said owner David Smith. While they are still called Atwood Pet Food Supplies, they have not supplied any material to the pet food industry since BSE was discovered in a cow in Alberta in 20062003.The new process will involve rendering at 270 degrees Fahrenheit which removes water, 60 per cent of the weight, and tallow, which is 15 per cent. The water is trucked to a water treatment plant and the tallow is sold into the bio diesel market. The remaining 25 per cent will enter the gasification chamber where it will be heated to 1100 to 1400 degrees centigrade.“Gas comes out of this oxygen starved container,” Smith said. “You just keep heating it. It is not incinerated. It’s just heating it up to get the gas off it. When the gas is off, we are going to fire that gas up and replace our natural gas costs.” The ash that is left may become fertilizer if it meets certain criteria. If it does not, it will be sent to landfill.Smith said the plant will run 24/7 and four or five workers will be added to the 35 currently employed at the plant. While they expect to get enough gas to run the operation, they are not certain whether they will have extra gas to produce power for the grid. BF Cargill moves Strathroy operations Garlic growers await nematode research outcome
Be ready for your next flat tire Friday, May 30, 2025 By Braxten Breen Farms.com Intern The Andersen Hitches Rapid Jack is a three-in-one tool - a tire jack -- that can also be used as a post block or a wheel chock. Its main purpose is to help change tires on trailers, and this cool tool is made in the USA. It is an innovative Tire Jack... Read this article online
An Ontario Foodbelt? Two MPPs want to see it happen Friday, May 30, 2025 Ontario has a Greenbelt and a Whitebelt, and if two MPPs are successful with a piece of legislation the province’s future will include a Foodbelt. Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner (Guelph) and independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady (Haldimand-Norfolk) tabled Bill 21, the Protect Our... Read this article online
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Did you Know you can Experience IPM 2025 in the Comfort of Your RV? Thursday, May 29, 2025 The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) is making a grand return to Niagara this fall for the first time in nearly a century. Visitors can now stay close to the excitement by booking a spot at the official IPM 2025 RV Park. Located just steps away from the main action, the... Read this article online