Peak Protein Limited Liability Company — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.5

Description

Broilers (birds produced for poultry meat) provide a very significant percentageof the global food supply.In 2018 the worldwide production of broilers was 98.4 million tons.The U.S.produced around 19 million tons of total broiler production with 3.3 million tons of this being sold asfood export(s).Export demands are growing due to population increases and loss of broilers overseasfrom Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu). At times bird flu can cause losses for U.S.poultry farmers with over 50 million chickens and turkeys being lost in the 2014-15 production season.Most broiler farmers are contract growers for large poultry companies like Tyson and farmers pay fortheir own broiler production houses with expensive automated equipment.A standard 40 ft. x 400 ft.broiler house now costs around $227000 and their conventional cooling & heating systems have highenergy costs.Few of these poultry houses are effectively sealed or truly biosecure so the birdsproduced may be exposed to any bird flu on infected poultry farms.Internal air in current poultryhouses is seldom filtered or re-filtered so there are health problems for birds and poultry farmersrelated to dust dried/ airborne chicken manure and small feathers.Poultry houses are typically verycostly since they must have sufficient structural strength to carry the weight of automated adjustable- height water and feed lines.Given all the above most U.S. poultry farmers generally have high-risk &minimal wage contract farm employment based on integrator (poultry company) contracts limitingprofit potential.Poultry farmers typically decide to work with integrators since most of theseintegrators provide breeder flocks hatcheries bird health inputs technical support feed millsprocessing plants and marketing systems (all expensive broiler production system inputs).Proposed Solution(s): PSI will construct a research model of a basic broiler house (30 ft. x 30 ft.) beinggreen constructed using a tubular-frame covered by an extra-strong long-lasting woven materialproviding a structure that may be totally sealed using wall-skirts buried in wire-trenches and havingairlock doors.A special bio-filtration system will be added to prevent entry of any airborne viruses orbacteria. A supporting air filtration system shall test removing dust manure powder and small feathersfrom internal air.A solar-zeolite refrigeration system will provide cooling by solar means. A solar atticover an insulated ceiling shall collect heat to store in internal PVC tubes filled with zeolite pellets thatstore four-times more heat than water for use in broiler house heating as needed.The weight of PhaseII height-adjustable water and feed lines added will be on a central steel support frame or could be on acentral stone wall used as an optional and proven means to store heat from a solar attic.Other than theabove innovations a Phase II full research model will have the usual automated water and feed systemstemperature and humidity controls alternative/ emergency