SASKATOON — A Saskatchewan researcher has invented a system intended to take the stink out of hog farming. Gurunathan Lakshman of Saskatoon said he can turn pig feces into an odour-free fertilizer that will eliminate problems inherent with hog farms.

"Most pig operations are not even permitted on the land because of the pollution and the smell," he said. "But if you remove both of those two things, there's no argument against hog operations."

Rural residents from several provinces have complained in recent years about the stench coming from large-scale hog operations that can house thousands of animals.

The raw manure is pumped into a series of tanks and treated with three non-toxic chemicals. The waste is separated into an odour-free slurry that dries into a nutrient-rich powder suitable for fertilizer.

The treatment system gets rid of the smell by attacking bacteria that feeds sulfur gases, which cause the stench, Lakshman said.

"When the manure goes through our treatment technology, all the bacterial metabolism is stopped completely and therefore, there are no more gases," he said.

Even the water from the process can be recycled for irrigation or barn washing, he said.

Lakshman won't say which chemicals he uses until his patent application has been approved.

The system can treat about 2,000 litres of manure per hour - the amount a 300 pig operation produces daily, he said, adding the process is also affordable. However, he has not yet set a cost.

"You can make a technology that does a bunch of goody goody things but costs a lot of money - people can't afford it and what good does it do?" he said. "It has to be within the affordability of the hog farmer."

The project received funding from the Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative, the Saskatchewan government, the Manitoba Pork Council and the National Research Council.