Process and facility for regulating the amount of oxygen supplied to animal drinking water
A facility for rearing animals comprises an injector, a water inlet line and a gas inlet line, a source of oxygen, a tank of water at atmospheric pressure; a coil capable of receiving water charged with dissolved oxygen coming from the injector, wherein the water arrives at the coil by virtue of a pump, and the coil creates a water/oxygen contact time; the water coming out of the coil passing through a device so that it is directed in full to the watering zone or else partly to the watering zone and partly to the tank, wherein the facility performs two simultaneous injections of oxygen or of a mixture containing oxygen into the water, one upstream of the pump and the other downstream of the pump, the flow rate of the injection performed upstream being lower than the flow rate performed downstream of the pump.
1 . A facility for rearing animals, including for conveying water to the animals for their watering, the facility comprising:
an injector ( 7 , 8 ) configured to inject a gas into water;
a water inlet line ( 20 ) and a gas inlet line ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) arriving in the injector;
a source ( 1 ) of oxygen or of a gas mixture comprising oxygen, capable of delivering oxygen into the gas inlet line,
a tank ( 17 ) of water at atmospheric pressure, the injector being supplied with water from the water in the tank, wherein the tank is furthermore supplied with new water ( 20 );
a coil ( 10 ) capable of receiving water charged with dissolved oxygen coming from the injector, wherein the water arrives at the coil by virtue of a pump ( 9 ), and the coil creates a water/oxygen contact time;
the water coming out of the coil passing through a device so that it is directed in full to the watering zone or else partly to the watering zone and partly to the tank ( 17 ),
wherein the facility performs two simultaneous injections of oxygen or of a mixture containing oxygen into the water, one ( 3 , 5 , 7 ) upstream of the pump and the other ( 4 , 6 , 8 ) downstream of the pump ( 9 ), the flow rate of the injection performed upstream being lower than the flow rate performed downstream of the pump.
2 . The facility as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the source is an oxygen concentrator supplying oxygen-enriched air.
3 . The facility as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the device is a backpressure regulator ( 12 ).
4 . A method of conveying watering water to livestock, wherein the water is conveyed to the animals by means of the facility as claimed in claim 1 .
5 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the flow rate of gas injected upstream of the pump represents between 5% and 25% of the saturation point of pure oxygen in water under considered temperature conditions at a farm, while the flow rate downstream of the pump represents the amount required to supplement the first injection to the coil to reach a desired value for a total oxygen content in the water supplied to the animals.
6 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein an operation of the pump is linked to a light in a building where the animals are housed.
7 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the injection of the gas is linked to a fresh water inlet in the facility.
8 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein an adjustable time delay is applied to the gas injection to prolong the injection for a desired period of time after a fresh water input in the facility is stopped.