Kyle Thomsen
Econ 331
Business Proposal
The name of the new business that I would hope to bring online is called Manure Methane Masters. In an attempt to reduce pig finishing barn gas emissions, I am looking into developing a system that will trap the pit gasses of a storage pit. This system will be incredibly useful for many different agricultural applications, and it will be extremely environmentally friendly to everyone who uses it. Many problems exist today in producing pigs on a large scale. Pigs produce an odor that does not please people who neighbor the facilities that house the pigs. They also produce gases such as methane, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide, which are all inhalation hazards to pigs and people alike. Currently, most production facilities that exist in our state of Iowa utilize pit fans which are designed to simply pull these gases from the top surface and release them out into the open air outside of the building structure. My product would be able to remove all gases in a pig barn and, in turn, draw clean oxygen from the outside air into the building to provide a safe environment for pigs to grow and thrive. I would trap the gases in some type of storage tank and somehow develop a way to separate them so they could be used in different ways. The methane gas could be used in an internal combustion engine of a specially designed fork lift, lawn mower, small tractor, or skid loader. The methane gas could also be reused by the same barn for a fuel to burn to heat the same facility it was produced in. The ammonia could be used for several different applications as well since it is utilized in several different foodstuffs and fertilizers. It would easily be preserved and utilized on some type of crop land in Iowa.
The customers of this project would obviously be any producer who owns and operates a pig barn, or anyone who produces pigs on any scale. However, I believe large scale producers would be the ones who would benefit more from this system.
I have extensive experience with hog finishing barns and I know that this system could benefit many producers around the area. I think this is the right time to start this business because there is such a big push for renewable fuels and gases that people would view my system as an incredibly efficient and environmentally friendly system. It would help eliminate odor, which would take a lot of heat off of producers from urban and rural neighbors. The best part of my system is that it would trap methane and re-use it to heat the buildings, or be burned in internal combustion engines. I feel that this is a truly important product and could be utilized by many pig producers.
I would be looking for people who would be able to sell my product and distribute it better than I would be able to. I would need a good team of engineers who could utilize technology to develop the parts of this system to be able to do what we want it to. Then, I would mostly be looking for experienced electricians, and hard workers who would be willing to buy into my system and company to be able to be as competitive as possible.